Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Whenever you visit a secure website, the data flowing between your web browser and the site’s server is encrypted (converted into code that is very difficult to understand and use without having the decryption key).
Encryption is a big deal because it helps protect your personal information from prying eyes and hackers. You’ll know you’re visiting a secure website when the URL in the address bar starts with https: instead of the usual http:. [Read more…]
It seems that free public Wi-Fi networks are everywhere these days. In fact, you’ll probably need to look no further than the nearest fast food joint.
The widespread availability of public Wi-Fi networks is great for when we’re traveling or the rare times when the Internet is down at home for whatever reason, but they do have one serious downside: They are typically unsecured.
To keep things as simple and non-intrusive as possible, the owners of most public Wi-Fi networks make them available as open, non-encrypted networks that don’t require a password. Unfortunately, these networks can leave your sensitive data wide open to hackers. [Read more…]
Between the NSA’s increasingly intrusive snooping and hackers intercepting our web traffic, we can no longer take Internet privacy for granted.
But if you use Facebook’s messaging system, there are a number of simple and free ways to keep your private messages private. A great example is a handy free service called Cryptocat.
Once you add Crytocat’s browser extension to your computer’s web browser(s) and/or install the app on your iPhone, all of your Facebook messages will be encrypted before they even leave your computer. [Read more…]
Google has just announced that, effective immediately, every email message sent via their popular Gmail service will be encrypted end-to-end.
Encryption has been an option for Gmail users for some time now, but this change turns it on by default. That’s good news for users who are concerned about the privacy and confidentiality of their personal and business communications. [Read more…]