Digital Self-Defense

What is the website, ID.me used for?

What are the two PIN numbers used in filing your taxes?

How can I get an identity protection (IP) PIN?

What does it mean (in online security) to plant your flag?

When filing your taxes, there are 2 different PINs you might use. The first is called your self-select PIN. It's 5 digits long, and pointless.

The second is called an Identity Protection (IP) PIN. It's 6 digits long, and awesome. It is a strong layer of protection against a hacker stealing your tax refund.

Click here to get your Identity Protection PIN.

Get an Identity Protection PIN

Information about the IRS self-select PIN

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What is a DDoS attack?

What social media platform was recently the target of a DDoS attack?

How can your home network be impacted by one?

What can you do to protect your home network?

DDoS attacks are growing faster than the squash in my garden - seriously, it's wild!

The slaves in the army? Devices quietly hijacked by hackers.

There are millions of them scattered around the globe...

And yes, your home devices could be part of the army without you knowing it.

Take one small action to improve your home network's security.

You have 9 suggestions, found in Episodes 51-59.

DDoS attack against X/Twitter

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Episode 40 - Website and Email Filtering

Episode 56 - Home Network Attacks From Within

Episode 57 - How Firewalls Protect You And What You Might Be Missing

What is a trojan horse?

What are two ways an outbound firewall protects you?

What is an outbound firewall's greatest frustration and greatest strength?

What is an allow list?

If you want to protect your computer, you need both an inbound and outbound firewall.

Almost nobody uses an outbound firewall - despite it's awesomeness.

The firewall limits the damage malware can do by blocking it from phoning home or spreading through your network.

Sure, you'll need to pay attention when your firewall asks you questions.

But that tiny hassle is worth the warm fuzzy you'll get knowing that only apps you trust can make outbound calls.

Join the tiny but elite crowd of people using an outbound firewall.

If you're on a Mac, get Little Snitch Mini.

If you're on Windows or Linux, get Portmaster by Safing.

Then report back on the forum how it goes.

Portmaster by Safing

Little Snitch Mini

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How to Access Your Router

Home Network Attacks From Within

What is a guest network?

How can it protect my home network?

Does everyone need to use it?

What are the 3 categories of Internet of Things (IoT) devices?

A guest network is a second wifi network you can set up at home.

It lets visitors use your internet without touching your main network.

That means your personal devices are protected from any malware their devices might be carrying.

If you often have people over, it’s a smart extra layer of protection.

A guest network can also protect your devices against threats from your own devices if they get infected.

Login to your router, and get a guest network setup today.

Please refer to your router's manual for instructions.

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Don't Answer the Phone

Bulletproof My Home

Home Network Attacks From Within

What is a firewall?

Why do I need more than one firewall?

Which device already has a firewall enabled?

What kinds of devices have an increased need for a firewall?

Firewalls in buildings stop fire from spreading.

Firewalls on computers do something similar: they stop malware from spreading.

Your router has a firewall that blocks threats from the internet before they reach your home network.

But what if the malware is already inside your network?

For that, you need a firewall on each of your computers.

These are especially vital for laptops, which often connect to public wifi.

And here’s the secret weapon almost nobody talks about: outbound firewalls.

They’re a unique and powerful extra layer of protection - and wildly underrated.

Please verify that the firewall is turned on for each computer in your home.

Change Firewall settings on Mac

How to turn on Windows firewall

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Don't Answer the Phone

What is a computer virus?

How does a computer virus spread?

How does patient (device) zero get infected?

What protection do we NOT have against these attacks?

What happens if a device in your home gets infected with a computer virus?

Just like a human virus, it wants to spread.

But how does that first device get infected?

There are plenty of ways, but one that is often underestimated is through Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Smart TVs, Alexa, and other "smart" appliances are prime targets for hackers.

Ironically, some of the must vulnerable devices are the ones meant to protect you - like a home security system.

And what's worse, your router probably won't stop the malware from spreading once it's inside your network.

That's why need layered protection.

In this series, we'll walk through at four them (maybe more).

Make a list of all devices in your home that connect to the internet.

Specifically look for devices besides phones and computers that might get overlooked.

Keep this list handy as you continue listening to the rest of this series of episodes.

Ring pays $5.8 million for privacy failures

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What are the seven most critical router security settings?

What is WPS and when is it okay to use?

What is a brute force password attack?

Which unexpected setting helps against this attack?

Default passwords and settings make a hacker's job easy.

It's time to take just a few minutes and strengthen your router's security.

If you don't know how to access your router, please listen to Episode 54

Adjust these settings:

1 - use a strong, unique router admin password of at least 14 characters

2 - disable remote administration if you can or use a random username and strong, unique password for the cloud account

3 - enable automatic firmware updates

4 - use a strong, unique wifi password of at least 16 characters

5 - use a unique wifi name with no brand or personal information in it

6 - disable WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)

7 - disable UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)

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Why do I need the manual for my router?

What's the first step in accessing my router?

How many passwords are there for my home network?

What are the two methods for connecting to a router?

If you can install an app, and visit a website, you can learn to access your router.

Reading the section in the router's manual should help.

Yes, I realize many of us don't read manuals anymore, but that's what I suggest.

You also need to know your router's admin username and password is.

It's probably printed on the bottom of your router, but if not, here again, the manual is your friend.

Finally, install the router's brand app if they have one, and you're ready to go!

Connect to your router, change the admin password, and keep that password in a safe place.

Common router passwords

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What is the awesome new tool we're building?

How can you get free lifetime access to it?

What problem does it solve?

What is a computer network port?

Computer network ports are like phone extensions in a corporate office building.

But instead of using an extension to reach a specific person, computer use ports to access specific services.

Services like visting a webpage, sending an email, checking for new email.

Hackers find their way into your home network by checking every extension to see if your router will answer any phone calls.

We are building a tool to let you check first so you know if your router is secure.

For a limited time, we are offering free lifetime access to the tool.

Register now at https://bulletproofmyhome.com to save your spot.

Get Free Lifetime Access

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What is the simple rule to keep your home network safe?

Why is breaking that rule so common?

How do I know if MY router is following the rule?

What new tool are we building?

Your home network's guardian from internet based attacks is your router.

To keep your home safe from these attacks, your router needs to follow one simple rule:

Don't answer the phone!

Unfortunately, convenience often tempts us to have our router break this rule.

Some of the biggest temptations include: remote administration, the internet of things, universal plug and play, and port forwarding.

Our call to action in this episode is to find your router's manual - either a physical or digital copy.

We'll be using it soon to close any holes in your router's security.

I suggest you identify your router's brand, and search for the official website for that brand.

Then go to that official brand website, and look up the specific model of router you have and download the manual there.

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