Public computers in libraries, Internet cafes, airports, and copy shops are an extreme security risk. While you can take steps to reduce these risks, it is still very dangerous to access sensitive personal or client information on them. Start with the assumption that most public computers will have malware on them and let this govern your activities accordingly. The following steps can reduce some of the risks associated with public computers:

• Try to turn on the “private browsing” feature.
• Watch for over-the-shoulder thieves who may be peeking as you enter sensitive passwords to collect your information.
• Uncheck or disable the

I have given this tip before, but it is worth giving again (thanks to the nudge in this LifeHacker post): Two-factor authentication is one of the best things you can do to make sure your online accounts are more secure and don’t get hacked. More and more popular services are offering it, including: Facebook, LinkedIn, Google/Gmail, BlackBerry, Yahoo, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon web services, PayPal, Dropbox, Hootsuite, Twitter, Evernote, WordPress and LastPass.
Two-factor authentication is a feature that asks for more than just your password. It requires both something you know (a password) and something you have (for example, your …

Activating a password-protected screensaver is a simple and very effective way to prevent an unauthorized person from rifling through the data on a computer or other device that’s been inadvertently left on or lost. All versions of Windows and Apple operating systems allow you to add a password to a screensaver. Remember to log out of any applications containing sensitive data and lock your screen when you leave your desk, or set a fairly short wait time on your screensaver so that it locks automatically if you step away. BlackBerry, Android, iOS and Windows mobile devices also have an automatic …

It is very important to remember that installing updates can unintentionally interfere with the way your computer/device or individual programs/apps on it operate. It is possible that a program/app may not operate properly or at all, that data could be lost, or that a device will fail to restart after an update is installed. Creating a restore point (a temporary backup of your configuration and data) and/or making a proper backup of all the programs and data on a device before you install updates can help you recover if there are unanticipated problems. Always remember to back things up before …

Ideally you have one or more types of properly updated anti-malware software running on your computers and networks. And hopefully that software detects and prevents any malware infections from occurring. However, because anti-malware software may not detect an infection, watch for the symptoms that can indicate a computer is infected with malware. These include:

• It takes longer than usual for your computer to start up, it restarts on its own or doesn’t start up at all;
• It takes a long time for one or more programs to launch;
• Your computer and/or programs frequently lock up or crash;
• Programs are starting

While email attachments are frequently used to share documents between lawyers, law firm staff, and clients, they are also one of the most common delivery mechanisms for malware. While most messages that have infected attachments will be stopped if your anti-malware software and/or spam filter are working properly and updated, some will make it through. For this reason, staff and lawyers at every firm should follow should follow these two simple rules:
1. No matter how interesting or enticing they appear to be (e.g., jokes, celebrity gossip or pictures), never open attachments from strangers.
2. No matter how interesting or …

Creating a long, unique, complex (letters in upper and lower case, numbers and symbols) and random password for every service you use is the best practice standard when it comes to using secure and strong passwords. If you follow this advice however, your passwords will be an unreadable mix of letters, numbers and characters. While good for security, they will be hard to remember.
As a solution, consider using a “passphrase” to remember complex passwords. A passphrase is a mix of letters, numbers and characters that has a translation that makes it easier for you to remember the correct sequence. …

The search functionality on many websites is dismal, and in sometimes it is non-existent. If you are looking for something on a specific website and can’t find it, don’t despair, Google comes to the rescue.
You can use Google to search within a specific website by preceding your query with “site:SpecificSiteURL” [substitute your URL and don’t use the double quotes]. For example, to find the retainers on the practicePRO site, type “site:practicepro.ca retainers” in the Google search box [don’t include the double quotes].
You can also search within a specific type of site by doing the following: “site:edu …

With DSLRs, it has become very easy to fill your SD or memory card to capacity. Many of us have will have found ourselves deleting pictures when we run out of space. Doing this in the middle of a photo shoot is fine. However, if you are taking a bunch of pictures off a memory card, remember to reformat the card. This wipes the card clean and will remove all picture and camera data. Simply erasing your pictures can leave data on the card and can make it more likely corruption may happen. For this reason when you take pictures …

Microsoft will no longer be supporting Windows XP SP3 (Service Pack 3) and Office 2003 (SP3) as of April 8, 2014. After this date there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates from Microsoft. Your computer will still operate, but if you continue to use Windows XP or Office 2003, you will become more vulnerable to security risks including harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, which can steal your personal information or destroy your data. For this reason, you should immediately start planning to migrate to more …