Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
Hacking and scamming incidents are on the rise. It’s a sad fact of pandemic life now, but on episode 351 of Geekiest Show Ever, we’re here to tell you that you can take back some control if you know what to look out for and how to implement best practices. We believe that online security should be a regular part of our overall well-being. It’s why we so frequently discuss security issues and using password managers. Tune in to hear us share our field experience for ways to help your loved ones become safer in our digitally connected world. Follow us for additional tips and conversation on Twitter @GeekiestShow https://twitter.com/geekiestshow
App Pick
Miele-LXIV is a free DICOM viewer for looking at images like MRI or Xray on your computer. Your doctor will either give you a disc or a way to get the images onto your computer, but if the program they provide is not compatible, this is a good alternative.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/miele-lxiv/id988332475 (Mac App Store link)
https://dicom.3utilities.com/viewer.php (developer website)
Security PSA
Check in with your loved one and have a conversation about their computer use and habits. Ask them to look at the programs installed on their devices and then ask if any of them look unfamiliar. Another good question to ask is if they have ever gotten “assistance” over the computer remotely by someone they didn’t know well who told them they could help them get money back. It’s an important conversation to have because sometimes the person feels embarrassed and won’t mention it. There are so many remote conferencing apps we use now for managing life in a pandemic. While these apps are really helpful and do serve a legitimate purpose, they can be used to exploit us during our most vulnerable times.
Think about the patterns that most phishing scams follow: a claim is made that convinces you to act because your money is in jeopardy or there is some information about you that has been revealed and you’re urged to check it out. They are targeting us in areas where we feel the most vulnerable: financial security and reputation. Many times those go hand in hand. The hacker will claim that you’ve been hacked and they are there to rescue you when they are actually the hacker!
1Password Families Review
Both Elisa and I have now converted our 1Password single licenses to the 1Password Families subscription service. We discuss how we got set up and how we’re using it with our families.
Tips
1.
If you’re using 1Password for Families with young children or older loved ones who are not yet digitally literate, consider setting up a shared vault with their name on it for them and then make that their default vault in the 1Password app Preferences. To set it up this way, click the Vaults tab in 1Password Preferences then look for the setting that says “Always open to” and change it from Private to their [Name] vault. Where it says “Show in All Vaults” uncheck the Private vault and be sure their [Name] vault is checked. This is where you can also check (enable) the vault that is shared by default with all the members of your family for passwords you want everyone to have access to. If you share your Netflix login, for example, that would be saved and synced in the default Shared vault. Then where it says “Vault for Saving” change that from Private to their [Name] vault. Now, each time your child or family member saves a new password, it will be saved in their [Name] vault and you will also have access to it. If they need help populating the fields, you can make those changes or corrections and it will be synced to their device from yours. Many times in the beginning, people forget to change the signup URL to the login URL and then wonder why they keep ending up on a page that asks them to create a new account. It’s understandably confusing! Because you’ll have access to their vault, you could locate the correct URL and then enter it for them from your own device. Sharing vaults like this is helpful for those of us who are tasked with being the family’s Digital Executor.
2.
Be sure to print out your 1Password Emergency kits, but before you do, consider annotating the PDF to include the Master Password. Use a monospace font like Courier (which is available on most systems) that will make the letters and numbers a bit easier to read. Make the text super large so that there’s no mistake reading what needs to be entered when it’s required.
3.
Whenever you’re enrolling into an online account for the first time and they ask you to pick security questions, make up silly answers to store in your password manager! They do NOT need to be correct and it’s even safer if they are harder to guess because your mother’s maiden name is not a hard fact to find out.
Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. We’d like to hear from you. Let us know about a tech topic that interests you.
