Author: Jacob Roach

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; Cybercrime is becoming popular with criminals as a way to scam the naive. In our series on cybercrime, we’ve looked at phishing, ransomware and botnets. Now, we’re tackling one of the most common and dangerous cybersecurity threats: browser hijacking. Browser hijacking is common because non-techies often don’t realize they have it. We’re going to explore what browser hijacking is, infamous examples of it, how to get rid of it and how you can protect yourself in the future. There’s crosstalk between cybersecurity threats, and browser hijacking is no different. If the symptoms we lay out ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; Ransomware is one of the greatest threats to cybersecurity today. It’s grown in power as more people keep their sensitive data on their computers, too. That data is a prime target for hackers, especially if it’s not protected or backed up. We’re here to help you understand what ransomware is and how you can protect yourself from it. We’ll define the malware broadly, then delve into the specifics of the two major archetypes. We’ll give you tips for removing ransomware and preventing it in the first place, as well. As with any malware, the best ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; Cybercrime is an evolving problem. Even as consumers learn about scams and schemes that run amok in the dark corners of the internet, new ones are being developed. One such crime is phishing. In this guide, we’re going to cover what phishing is, the different types to look for and the steps you can take to protect yourself. Like learning the unsafe streets in a major city, the ability to identify cybercrime takes time. Thankfully, there are tools to guide your path along the way. We’re going to start by showing you the telltale signs ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; In our series on cybercrime, we’ve covered online threats such as ransomware, phishing and browser hijackers. This time, we’re going to look at one of the most potent threats online: botnets. While you can’t get a botnet, you can be part of one. Botnets are networks of slave computers used to carry out a variety of tasks. They’re especially dangerous, too, as their goal is to live on your machine undetected for as long as possible. We’re going to look into what botnets are, the ways they commit cybercrimes, their structures and how you can ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; Security comes first when choosing an antivirus. While usability, price and the number of devices supported are important, it’s all in vain if the protection falls flat. Out of the software we tested in our antivirus reviews, these five reign supreme in protection. In this guide to the most secure antivirus, we’re going to pit the best antivirus software against each other to give you the best options on the market. We’ll share how we made our selections, then compare lab results to our hands-on testing to show you how well a particular antivirus performed ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; Dashlane and 1Password are two of the best password managers on the market. They come with enough features to differentiate themselves from your browser’s password manager and a security system to match. In this Dashlane versus 1Password comparison, we’re going to find out which one you should invest in. We’re going to look at them on a point-by-point basis in objective rounds, such as security, and subjective rounds, such as user-friendliness. Our winner is Dashlane, which shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve looked at our password manager reviews. 1Password puts up a great fight, though, ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; SSL certificates are essential for any website online. When it released Chrome 62, Google began punishing insecure websites using HTTP with a “not secure” label in the address bar on any webpage that has text entry. In this guide on how to install a SSL certificate on WordPress, we’re going to help you sidestep that problem using the world’s most popular content management system. We’ll run through what a SSL certificate is, how to choose the right one for you and how to configure it for your website. The simplest method of installing a SSL ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; LastPass commands a large portion of the market with 13 million users, while rival Dashlane clocks in at 10 million. The number of active users doesn’t indicate which password manager is better for you, though, and that’s where we come in. In this Dashlane vs LastPass comparison, we’ll run through everything that makes these password managers stand out from the other options. Both will help you set a strong password, but only one can win. This comparison is particularly interesting as data breaches in 2011 and 2015 brought up concerns about LastPass’s security, while Dashlane’s ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; In 2014, more than half a million Windows computers were infected with malware that allowed explicit access to a user’s webcam and microphone. For reference, that’s nearly one-sixth of the U.S. population. Webcam hacking is real. Resolutions are getting much better, too, meaning higher quality photos and videos can be used for spying or exploitation, so we’re here to guide you through how to secure your webcam. We’re going to tell you why your webcam is unsafe before diving into the ways to fix it. A piece of tape generally works for overall protection but, ... Read More

Feed: Cloudwards. Author: Jacob Roach; In this guide to website security, we’re going to give you the knowledge you need to keep your website safe. We’ll go over common threats, what you can do protect your website from them and the most secure web hosts. Website security isn’t talked about much, but it’s an extremely important topic. Even small websites are becoming the targets of malware, spam and distributed denial of service attacks, which are used to steal private user data or distribute nasty malware. Let’s start with an explanation of how data flows from a user to the web ... Read More