Archive for September 15, 2017

Some Tips Before Upgrading To iOS 11

Posted in Tips with tags on September 15, 2017 by itnerd

Apple will be releasing the latest version of iOS which is iOS 11 on September 19th. Likely at 1PM EST. But before you upgrade, here’s some tips on what you might want to do before you pull that trigger:

1. Update your Apps: Make sure that all your apps are up to date before upgrading by opening the AppStore app and seeing if any updates are required. This is important because you need to make sure they are all 64-bit versions as iOS 11 has no support for 32-bit apps. After you do that, you still need to check if you have any 32-bit apps by doing this:

  1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen
  2. Tap General
  3. Tap About
  4. Tap Applications

Here you will be given a list of the applications that are still 32-bit. These are the apps that maybe in danger of not working on iOS 11. If you tap on Applications, and no list of apps shows up, it means you don’t have any apps that are 32-bit.

2. Dump any uneeded photos, videos or apps: iOS updates tend to need a fair amount of free space to allow for a successful installation. Thus if you have anything less than 5GB of free space, consider deleting unused apps or photos/videos. In terms of the photos and videos you want to keep, you can move them to the cloud or a computer so that they’re safely stored without taking up space on your iPhone. I personally use iCloud myself, but Google Photos is another option.

3. Backup your iDevice: If you value the data on your iDevice, backing it up is a must. You have two options for backing up your iDevice: iCloud or iTunes. Follow this guide to backing up your iPhone using iCloud or iTunes.

At this point you should be good to go to upgrade. Key word being SHOULD. Upgrading an operating system isn’t a trivial process. But if you take these steps beforehand, you should reduce the risk of any issues that you might encounter.

 

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Guest Post: NordVPN Discusses The Fact That Most Internet Users Lack Basic Cybersecurity Practice

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 15, 2017 by itnerd

NordVPN has conducted a National Privacy Test – a survey of almost 5,000 respondents in English-speaking countries, which has determined that, on average, Internet users are not aware of basic online security rules. The average rate of correct answers was 44 out of 100, showing some dangerous gaps in general public’s cybersecurity knowledge.

“We understand that privacy tools can sometimes be overwhelming,” said Marty P. Kamden, CMO of NordVPN. “Therefore, our goal is to find major weaknesses in cybersecurity knowledge of average Internet users and to show them the privacy tools used by experts. Moreover, we want to help people realize that significantly enhancing their security is not that complicated and can be done in few clicks. We have also noticed that even though people seem to know the answers to many questions, they do not apply their knowledge in practice. So we also want to close the gap between theory and practice when it comes to online security.”

NordVPN has observed the following mistakes that people usually make in cybersecurity:

  1. 94% of Internet Users Think They Recognize Phishing Emails – But Half of Them Keep Clicking. 94% of respondents said they would ignore an email request from a bank asking for personal information. Yet statistics show that up to 45% of Internet users keep clicking on dangerous links or providing personal information where they shouldn’t.

This suggests that although users may recognize basic malicious emails, more sophisticated phishing attempts often still work. NordVPN recommends checking the sender’s address, looking for spelling and grammar mistakes and not clicking on links – instead, hovering the mouse over to see if it’s legitimate (one of the indicators of legitimacy would be https URL).

  1. Social Media Users Still Share Vacation Photos. According to the survey, while social media users know they shouldn’t share their home address, current location or phone number on Facebook, half of them still share vacation photos or social plans. However, each time a social media user announces that they are on vacation, it’s a signal that their home is empty. NordVPN recommends posting vacation pictures after getting home, never sharing personal data on Facebook, and protecting one’s location by using a VPN, which allows to set one’s location to any country in the world.
  2. Many Online Shoppers Believe Public Wi-Fi Is Safe. It was found in the survey that as many as one-third of respondents believe that various activities – such as checking email, logging into a social media account, shopping online or checking a bank account – are safe on public WiFi. While checking a bank account on a public hotspot is assumed to be very risky (less than 2% agree that is safe), entering banking credentials to make a purchase online is seen as a lesser risk (23% think it is safe). NordVPN recommends staying away from public terminals when shopping online and using a VPN when conducting any online transaction.
  3. Information Overload Is Confusing to Internet Users. Only slightly over 50% of the survey respondents realized that an email confirming a genuine online purchase does not pose a security threat. The outcome shows that the topics of online privacy and security can be very confusing for an average Internet user. If they are surrounded with information on various threats for long enough, every little thing starts looking like another phishing attempt. That’s why it’s so important to educate users about crucial online habits and tools so that they can tell credible threats from myths.

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