How Do You Protect Yourself from In-Home Spying?
A video by an NBC National Investigative Reporter demonstrates how hackers can invade your privacy in the comfort of your own home. There are simple ways you can protect your privacy, which we use when we counsel clients in many of the cases we investigate:
- Check your remote desktop connection and be sure you are not permitting access to your computer
- Put tape over your computer’s camera lens (we suggest metal tape or black electrical tape)
- Shut off your computer when not in use and close the lid
- Exercise extreme caution when opening email from senders you do not know
- Never click on links within a suspicious email
- E-Cards, photos, and chain emails, such as jokes that ask you to you to pass them on to others, are commonly used to transmit viruses
- Install virus protection on your computer and keep it updated.
Unbeknown to most users, there are applications that you can download to your computer, iPhone, or iPad, thinking that they are harmless. Appthority put together a list of some of the worst offenders that are virtual Trojan horses that steal personal data when you are not looking. Some of the popular apps include Facebook, QR Pay, a QR Code Scanner and Barcode Reader, and Angry Birds Star Wars, to name a few.
Situational Awareness
More often than not, you can protect yourself by just using common sense. Be wary of free offers, because you may inadvertently be making yourself a target.
