An Easy Conficker Test

April 3, 2009

Got Conficker? I certainly hope not! Conficker is a form of malware that allows some unknown entity to take over your computer and do things that you’d rather not have done. It was first released last November (after the details of a Microsoft Windows vulnerability were made available). Since this threat is easily removed by [...]

Read the full article →

VIPRE AntiVirus Software

January 18, 2009

I am in Orlando this weekend, speaking at the Earn 1k A Day Summit on computer security. one of the other members attending the event asked me about antivirus and firewall software. I tested Sunbelt Software’s VIPRE AntiVirus a couple of months ago (I don’t regularly use antivirus software; I rely on other “experts only” [...]

Read the full article →

Fireproof Boxes — An Often Overlooked Detail

September 8, 2008

A fireproof box can be a great place to store a small quantity of important papers. Anything put in this box has a better chance of surviving a fire. I like to keep my passports, birth certificates, wills, and social security cards in there, among other things. They are the things you don’t need all [...]

Read the full article →

A Hurricane Season Charity Note

September 2, 2008

The first message just popped into my Inbox: “Hurricane Relief”. Here we go again. If you want to contribute to hurricane relief, please do so via some established charity that you KNOW, with 100% certainty, will use your donation for its intended purpose. I’m not going to list any here, nor will I recommend any. [...]

Read the full article →

Passing Passwords In The Clear

August 31, 2008

Do you realize that whenever you log in to your web server using FTP or telnet — or log in to a site via regular HTTP (as compared to HTTPS) — you are passing your password in the clear, where it is subject to being intercepted? This is just one way that your password can [...]

Read the full article →

Where Do You Go When You Surf The Internet?

August 27, 2008

There are a lot of dangerous places on the Internet. You know — sites you wouldn’t want your children to see, sites that download malware on to your computer, sites that can take over your computer without your knowledge, etc. Here’s a simple trick to help prevent your computer from becoming infected and to better [...]

Read the full article →

How Simple Will Simple Be?

March 7, 2008

So far, not much has been put up here. To be honest, it’s because I’ve been debating which way I want to take this site. And I’ve almost decided! I want this site to be exactly as the name implies: Simple. I want the information you receive here to be easy to implement. Security. I [...]

Read the full article →

Simple Security Tips

March 13, 2007

Welcome to Simple Security Tips. You’ll get a very short — and very helpful — security tip every time I make a post. And who am “I”? I’m Tom Brownsword, a certified computer security professional (CompTIA Security+ and CISSP) with an extensive background in security. Beyond the “computer security” aspect, I also have extensive experience [...]

Read the full article →

Next Entries →