5 Security Resolutions

Here are 5 New Year Security Resolutions that may be useful to adopt in 2011.

1) Upgrade your password swagger

Several security incidents involving leaked passwords occurred in 2010. As long as passwords continue to be ubiquitous to single-factor security online, they will be huge targets for attackers. Beef up your account security by using different passwords for different accounts. Use a password manager to organize them, and use randomly generated passwords to make it hard for an attacker to guess their way in. Even starting a simple password rotation schedule for your own accounts can add some decent protection against password breaches.

2) Keep up with updates and patches

It’s not ideal to postpone things that are time-sensitive and intended to benefit you. One of the most critical moments for computer users is the time between the discovery of a vulnerability and the availability of a solution for it. In general, the sooner a fix is found and applied, the better.

3) Keep your ear to the streets

Sometimes, relying on official vendor updates isn’t enough. The computer security community can provide information on things that might not yet be acknowledged by companies or discussed in the public media. It can be a source for unofficial (but legitimate) workarounds/patches/fixes, or a source for reference information on the structure of a new botnet. Whether you get your news from RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, mailing lists, or IRC channels, it’s important to have a way to stay informed.

4) Expand your knowledge on emerging technologies as vectors of attack

Computer security isn’t static because computer technology isn’t static. As we get new platforms, protocols, and programs, new attack vectors will present themselves. The first step to addressing these new vectors will be understanding how their underlying technology works.

5) Show other people how to be safer online

Not everyone finds computer security fascinating, but most people can benefit from it. It can’t hurt to teach someone how to spot scam emails, or how to
avoid drive-by malicious downloads.