Simple Security Planner tool for EVERYONE!

Security PlannerI love it when I get to tell people about another great security tool. This simple Security Planner tool is another FREE resource that can really help protect you, your loved ones, your friends and co-workers. As I recently stated when talking about Quad9, I love it when the good guys come up with something to help everyone – particularly the non-technical folks out there … after all you make up the vast majority of the users of the internet. ?

This security planner was created by the good folk of the Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary group based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. It’s really, really, really easy to use and will guide you through everything from start to finish.

  1. It starts by asking what you use to handle private data (Windows computer, iThing, e-mail, etc.)
  2. Then it asks what are your concerns (getting hacked,  infected, etc.)
  3. Finally it asks if there is any particular reason for your concern (you’re being harrassed or dealing with a current issue, etc.)
  4. Then it will give you an action list, with individual help on each thing that it recommends you to do.

What I really appreciated was the first step it seems to give for everything … it’s to do with two-factor-authentication:

Regular readers of my blog/newsletter will know I’m always going on and on and on about this. I don’t repeat myself often, unless it’s for a really, really, really good reason and two-factor-authentication is one such reason. It really does help protect your online accounts and so, where available, please, please, please use it.

So, for those of you reading this now, go ahead and use this security planner to help protect youself.

And then, when you go visiting your family over the Christmas period, particularly the more mature members of your nearest and dearest, why not sit down with them, fire up this website on their computer/tablet/phone and go through this fairly painless, simple process to get themselves as protected as you are. They’ll thank you for it and so will Santa. ?

Happy Christmas! ?