Thank You

Just search your name in Google, there is a 95 percent chance it will come up with something. Its all out there and then of course there are those calls randomly generated by computer. You can usually tell those from the long pause before anyone speaks. With number recognition on phones, you can ignore calls you do not recognise, I frequently do on the assumption if it is important they will call back.

I have had an increase in calls lately but it is hard to say it was down to the breach the Club suffered.

Stay safe.

peedee

I posted this on the "What are you all up to" thread so some of you may not have seen it.  Here is the other side of the story - so to speak.......

For some years now, I have been taking part in the NFU surveys - which are essentially market research vehicles for them.  A few weeks ago and before the problems with this website, I received an email telling me I had 'won' a £100 gift for my participation in said surveys.  "Just click here to collect it........." Checked the origin of the email and it was from an .io domain - British Indian Ocean Territory and used by tech and start-up companies.  Not likely says I and ignored it (but didn't delete it). Copied the email to our local NFU office and asked them to check with their IT Dept if it was genuine. Didn't hear anything back for about 10 days.  In the meantime, I was intrigued - and very carefully started to probe.  Clicked on the link and all it was asking was for me to confirm my email address - well they had that anyway, says I - so I did. I then end up with the web page of what turned out to be a very reputable company in the USA - checked reviews etc and it all seemed OK and apparently they handle such 'gifts' for thousands of major companies throughout the world.

I am even more intrigued (and cautious) and went to the next step - the 'payment place where I was given lots of options - collecting the cash would involve revealing bank details and was therefore a definite no-no but I had the option of getting an electronic Amazon voucher.  Thinking that would be safe since I would do the credit and therefore not reveal any Amazon details, I opted for that - it worked - and I now have £100 credit on my account.  Almost soon as I had completed this, I received an email from NFU, confirming the original email was genuine.

Just goes to show that not all such emails are scams - but I was ultra cautious (and somewhat nervous) in dealing with it.

Caution is the key word there r&r. Lots of folk are complacent when online because it's easy to be so. Always amuses me when looking through Facebook on the wife's phone how people post photos and text while having a lovely time away that would be so easy to see where they live and even to form an identity. The internet and social media are a fantastic place but can be very dangerous as well. I've even read on this forum where someone has mentioned that they haven't change a password in years. 

Doing our cyber security training with the club was a huge eye opener but most of the security we need is easily done at home with a little advice and thought.

JK

"I've even read on this forum where someone has mentioned that they haven't change a password in years."

I know plenty of those JK - and a few who keep what passwords they have in a little book marked "Passwords" next to their computer. I know I'm preaching to the converted, but switching to using Dashlane password manager, some 8 years ago, was the best move I have made. I have about 200 passwords - none of them re-used - all the highest level of security and I haven't a clue what any of them are.  As long as I don't forget the master password, Dashlane automatically logs in for me. So simple and not expensive and there's even a free version up to a limit of, I think, 50 passwords.

As someone with a website I get all sorts of "communications" offering me services I don't need, or too old to enjoy To some extent I have reduced the occurrence of such communications by removing the email link from the website so they now have to type in the email which considerably reduced the amount of spam I got, it is now only a trickle. 

There are clearly a lot of people on this forum who take internet security seriously and have the knowledge to question and put defences in place. However there will be a far greater number of people who just about managed with security and understanding of their devices. I think I have got Margaret to be suspicious of strange emails and phone calls but if  the attempt was more sophisticated I wonder how she would manage and I expect that applies to many people. Having said that we are all capable of being tricked.  Whilst Richard's idea of having passwords stored online will be much more secure I suspect to do that for many would be beyond the edge of their knowledge so a notepad next to the computer will have to do for some!

David

"Whilst Richard's idea of having passwords stored online will be much more secure I suspect to do that for many would be beyond the edge of their knowledge so a notepad next to the computer will have to do for some!"

Spot on, David. I have two friends in particular - one retired army officer (87) and another, retired probation officer (84).  Both pretty switched on with most things, but try as I might, I cannot get them to use a password manager.  It is just a step too far for them.

Trouble is - and they both do it - they write their passwords down and later can't remember whether it's an i, or I or 1 - a j or J - or o or O or 0 etc etc. I've spent a lot of time with both of them, resetting passwords - but it still happens  Neither of them will change!!

On the subject of remembering passwords.....  one option is to use something like ewallet.  You have to update in manually.  However, you have to remember one single password... your ewallet password, in order to access it...

David