Hey ...

Good news... "The Ultimate Cybersecurity Survival Guide" ebook will go live tomorrow!

THANK YOU to those who participated in my survey last week. There were over 2500 responses, and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Here's a graph showing how you answered the question about your personal cybersecurity readiness. Bottom line, if you're not in the GREEN ZONE, you have work to do!

And based on your feedback, I've incorporated some additional cybersecurity tips in the ebook. I was really surprised by one particular category of questions.

I can't wait to share that info with you! But in the meantime, here are some of the answers to your survey questions:

QUESTION: "Do I really need anti-virus software? If so, which one offers the best protection?"
ANSWER: Yes. With 500,000 new malware variants discovered every day, if you don’t have the right protection, you will probably fall victim to a virus. Most antivirus tools on the market use a “blacklist” or “virus signature” approach. However, I recommend a specific product that employs a "whitelist" approach, one that doesn’t trust ANY new program or download.

QUESTION: "Why do some websites force me to create a long, complicated password that's hard to type and easy to forget?"
ANSWER: A trivial password like “abc123” is like leaving the key in your front door. Short (or easily guessable) passwords are easy pickings for "brute force" password-cracking software. With the help of a password manager, you can have secure passwords without the need to memorize them.

QUESTION: "I only back up documents and photos. I feel that the operating system and other software can be reloaded if necessary. What is wrong with this logic?"
ANSWER: Nothing, if you're geeky and have all the time in the world. But if your hard drive fails, you'll need to re-install the operating system, apply security patches, reconfigure personal settings, then re-install all your programs. Locating the installation media and license keys can be a big hassle. Only then can you restore your data files from backup. That process can take many hours, and often requires a bit of technical know-how.

All of these issues are discussed in greater detail in "The Ultimate Cybersecurity Survival Guide", along with my plain English tips to protect your privacy and your data. Stay tuned for an announcement about that.

We'll talk again soon,
-- Bob