The Dragon that Guards the Data: No Pet Names in Passwords!

There’s a story on MSNBC.com about a security vulnerability discovered in DNS servers. Those are the machines that take the name you type into your address bar and convert it into numbers your computer can comprehend. If it converts it into the wrong set of numbers, you go to the wrong place. It would be…
A recent post on the Wordfence blog discusses a major set of attacks against WordPress sites, title WP-VCD. Most of my readers will not be interested in the technical details (which are, in fact, very interesting!), but the basic actions to keep your site secure listed near the end are worth your time. If you…
More than a decade ago I was called in to do some work on the computer used by an office receptionist. After hearing the explanation, I sat down for what would be a rather easy job. Moments later, the receptionist interrupted me and said, “I guess you’ll need my password.” Problem was, I was already…
Wordfence is providing another excellent public service announcement, this time regarding hijacked extensions. While the method of attack is interesting, there are a number of important actions recommended in the post. I’d like to call your attention to a few: Don’t trust links in e-mails. As we become used to search bars being combined with…
Wordfence has an excellent post on this subject. While their post is aimed at WordPress users, the ideas are good for any password. My own comment is this: Use MFA – multi-factor authentication. This is accomplished in various ways, such as an app on your phone, a texted code, emailed code, and so forth. It takes…
This article gives key elements. I also recommend using additional AV software, especially if you are hosting WordPress or other CMS accounts. Imunify360 is a good option.
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