Internet Cloud Security
I have been thinking a lot about internet security lately. My wife suggested I read this article and it became an immediate priority for me to make sure people are more educated about security on the internet.
Definition of the Cloud
The Cloud is a term that is loosely applied to any system on the internet that is used to store and manage data for access from a remote location. Any website that you “login” to is essentially part of the cloud, especially if it stores any of your information. Facebook is a cloud system. Your email is likely a cloud system. There are many advantages to Cloud computing, but there are also risks. Reasonable people can disagree on whether the advantages outweigh the risks, but if you are reading this, you have probably taken for granted that the risks are small enough in comparison to the benefits. That is, you haven’t completely removed yourself and any information that identifies you or is important to you from the internet but rather take precautions that you deem appropriate and proportionate to the risks that come along with internet usage.
I highly recommend reading the article cited above, but make sure you finish it if you start. It ends well with some great suggestions. However, in case you really don’t want to read it, here are a few things that I want to stress as part of the topic of security on the internet:
1) Password security
Aside from never using the word “password” or “12345″ as your actual password, there are some important things to remember when creating a password:
a) Don’t reuse a password for too many different logins, especially for your main email account
b) Make sure your password is strong. This doesn’t just mean upper and lower case letters, but numbers and symbols. Make your password something other than an English word. It helps if you know another language or if the site supports using spaces in your password, in which case you can use an entire phrase
c) Change your passwords from time to time. Obviously this is less convenient, so you will have to decide what balance of convenience and security you are comfortable with.
2) Data backup
While I don’t think backing up your entire email account is completely necessary, if you will sleep better at night, it might be a good idea. There are several ways of doing this but the easiest would be to use Outlook or Thunderbird to download your email through a POP server. If this is jibberish to you, give us a call or email and we can explain it or schedule a time to do it for you.
You also want to make sure your data on your computer is backed up and safe. In case you missed my post on backups, I highly recommend the program CrashPlan. Make sure you use a unique and strong password for your CrashPlan account too 
3) Don’t use unsecure websites
The most obvious security threat comes from anything pornographic, but there are plenty of sites that can be unsafe to use. Be wary of “new” sites you found through a Google search, especially if the site wasn’t listed on the front page of the search. Try to stick to sites you have heard of. Follow the guidelines suggested in this post.
4) Be careful when using a public computer
This doesn’t just mean the computer in the library or coffee shop. Anytime you use a friend’s computer or check your email at your parents’ house, you are more vulnerable. Make sure your password is not saved and that you sign out of any website that you were using. Don’t just close the web browser.
5) Use a better web browser
Avoid using Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is more vulnerable to hacking attempts than other browsers. Use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.
6) Make sure your WiFi connection is secured
Many home wireless networks are still open and unsecure. If your wireless network is not secured, your computers are open to intrusion from almost anyone. Your wireless key should be a strong password using a WPA2 encryption. If you are not sure how to do this, call us and we can help you. When you connect to wireless networks outside your own home or work, make sure your firewall is configured to block incoming traffic. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, this can be easily done by selecting “Public” after connecting to the wireless network.
7) Use HTTPS
If your email provider supports it, make sure you use https instead of just http. You can tell if this is the case by looking at the address bar in your web browser. This is where the URL or address of the website is shown. If it begins with https, you are good. If not, check to see if the option is available. This is an extra layer of security for your account. This is also true for Facebook. Check your security settings.
Questions/Suggestions?
What other things would you suggest in order to make sure your data remains safe and accessible in the cloud? Do you have any questions?
Web Browsers
As the internet has offered more and more to computer users, web browsers have evolved from a simple interface terminal 
program to a complex application that can support all kinds of add-ins and customizations. In essence, the web browser has become a type of operating system, and may even actually fill that role permanently as cloud computing emerges. The Chromebook from Google has already shown how this may happen.
Initially, Microsoft had a pretty good hold on the web browser scene with its Internet Explorer. Apple also came standard with its Safari browser. But as users looked for other options and more customization, Netscape became popular. Today, there are really dozens of web browsers and the market is changing all the time with the addition of smartphones and tablets to the internet.
You may pay for your Microsoft Windows operating system, or your Apple OSX, or other types of software that you use on your computer. But when was the last time, if ever, that you paid for a web browser? Web browsers are free and yet the market still enjoys one of the most competitive atmospheres of any software.
So which browser is the best? What are the pros and cons of each?
Here’s my opinion of the 3 most popular web browsers out there:
1) Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer is the standard browser that is built-in to Windows operating systems. It is slow and prone to viruses and other malware, but it still remains the standard platform what many web developers use to design online databases and other secure sites. Many sites require the features built into Internet Explorer, so while you may use another browser for regular web-surfing, you will likely find that you have to pull up Internet Explorer from time to time in order to access a site. For this reason and that it always comes pre-installed, many people continue to use Internet Explorer for all their web browsing. If you use Internet Explorer, make sure you are updated at least to IE8. Earlier versions aren’t supported by many websites anymore.
2) Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is the heir to the Netscape legacy. Firefox is one of the most customizable and versatile browsers out there. It pioneers new features and capabilities that other browsers only pick up on in later versions. Firefox is my personal favorite and though it isn’t perfect (still crashes sometimes), I find it more reliable and resistant to malware than other browsers. Also, because it has been around for a while, it benefits from a large range of compatibility. Very few sites cannot be viewed correctly with Firefox. It generally performs faster than Internet Explorer and is more customizable. I experienced some stability problems with Firefox 4.0 which seem to have been resolved with the latest version 5.0
3) Google Chrome
Google Chrome is fast becoming even more popular that Internet Explorer. Chrome’s best feature is its speed. It generally launches faster than any other browser. However, I found Chrome a little annoying in its lack of customizability and I generally disliked the layout. Chrome is designed to be somewhat of an operating system for Google’s web applications, which is why it is the only application running on the Chromebook. Chrome can be used to run Google’s Applications in Windows and OSX and some even require it to work.
As I wrote above, my personal preference is Firefox and it continues to be very competitive in its speed, stability, and features. If 
your web browser is running slow (slow to launch, slow to open web sites), you may have some add-ons or toolbars that are bogging it down. These can be disabled to make your browser work more smoothly and launch faster. Always make sure you have the latest version of your web browser so that you remain as secure as possible from viruses and other malware.
CrashPlan Backup
I recently came across some amazing backup software called CrashPlan that I just had to share. CrashPlan is very competitively priced and has several advantages over other backup solutions like Carbonite or Mozy.
1) CrashPlan has several FREE backup solutions
While I certainly recommend paying for and using CrashPlan’s online cloud storage, you can also download and use the software to backup to an external drive, another one of your computers, or a friend’s computer all for FREE. These options are a great supplement to an online backup in case you have a lot of data. A local backup would let you restore your data faster and get you up and running again in the event of data loss.
2) CrashPlan has great customizable options
There are all kinds of options in the CrashPlan application that let you choose how, when, and what to backup. You can choose whether or not to encrypt your data and how often you want CrashPlan to look for new files to backup. The interface is easy to use and the options are extensive, so advanced users can customize how they want their backup to happen.
3) CrashPlan is secure
CrashPlan uses 128-bit encryption to transfer your data and 448-bit encryption to store it. This means that you never have to worry about someone accessing your files from your backup. Even if you backup to a friend’s computer, they cannot access your encrypted files. CrashPlan monitors all of your backups and can send you emails or even tweets as often as you choose to let you know the status of the backup or if there is a problem.
4) CrashPlan is compatible with any system
My favorite part about CrashPlan is its compatibility across different types of computers and operating systems. CrashPlan is compatible with all versions of Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, and even Solaris. This means that you can backup your Mac to your PC and your PC to your Mac without worrying about any compatibility problems.
Check out CrashPlan at http://www.crashplan.com
Gmail Calls
As if there weren’t already enough reasons to be using Gmail or Google Apps, last year, Google released a new feature in Gmail. Now you can make calls within Gmail to any phone in the US or Canada for FREE. Those who already have a Google Voice number will find that this feature integrates perfectly with Google Voice. Calls to their Google Voice number can be received in Gmail and outbound calls made from Gmail go through their Google Voice number. This is the future of telephony.
