Security questions around all things online have exploded over the past year as working from home became the norm and cyber criminals found new ways to scam us.  One of the top requests in our recent poll was for more information on security.

There are two primary areas of concern: staying aware of exterior threats and ensuring that your devices are password-protected and secure.

Email scams

Be skeptical. If you don’t recognize the sender, be suspect. Here are some new scams as well as some old — and persistent — “greatest hits.”

• Fake COVID aid: These can include offers for tests, cures or shortcuts to government checks. Pleas for donations to fake charities to help victims have also become prevalent.

• Tech support scams: Suddenly you get an alert that you have a virus or that a software program you use has been compromised. (Ask yourself, how would they know?)

• Offers for phony travel insurance policies during COVID-19.

• Small businesses are getting offers for additional domain names that will “guarantee” top search engine results, an impossible promise.

There are many more. Never share your personal information online or by phone unless you are absolutely certain you know who you are dealing with.

Password protection

It is such a hassle to keep track of all the passwords we have these days. But keeping passwords safe and strong is vital to ensuring that your data is secure and safe. We recommend using a password keeper. This reduces the number of passwords you need to remember to ONE and safely stores all of your passwords and connects them to this one password. Yes, it takes a few minutes to enter all your passwords and set this up, but it is well worth it for the peace of mind and ease of use you will enjoy after you do.

There are a number of solid options today ranging from free to up to around $50 a year depending upon your needs. We like Keeper Security for its easy-to-use interface and overall good features for the price, but consider your specific needs before making your choice.

Viruses

As for computer viruses, if you are on a Mac your risk is low, largely because of the control Apple maintains over its app store. Microsoft is by far the biggest target for viruses and malware. And Android is second. For Mac and PC we do recommend Malwarebytes to help with those niggling pop-ups and annoyances.