# Computer protection and hacking



## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Hi All,

My wife's email got hacked today. Got the 'Western Union" money order scam. I've actually been chatting with the hackers online and trying to get them to open a 'zip-bomb' but they seem too smart for that. Oh well, no vengence for me I guess.

Anyway, I thought I would post a couple things that I use:
1) Double verification for gmail. Basically if a non-sanction computer tries to access your email it gets shut down until you can put in a text message
2) Dropbox of course for back ups. Not really a security thing but I used to use 'bleeding edge' linux distros and have crashing issues. I would then just open up my back up computer - get dropbox to sync and I'd have all of my stuff back. You get a bunch free but I pay $100 for the full service. Pound wise I figure.
3) Preyproject.com. This service is free and awesome. use it.

Have a hack-free day!


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

thanks for the tips!


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## LifeInsuranceCanada.com (Aug 20, 2012)

4) Don't use gmail .

Sorry to hear of your woes.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

LifeInsuranceCanada. said:


> 4) Don't use gmail .
> 
> Sorry to hear of your woes.


It's fine - I have my computer locked down pretty tight - although I do have a guest account to allow someone who stole my computer to use it while I track them down 

My wife had to switched out of gmail anyway. Gmail is actually very secure if you have the double authentication on (which I do but my wife didn't).

EVERYONE should have preyproject on their laptop.


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## Charlie (May 20, 2011)

Tell me more about dropbox.

The $100 plan includes 'only' 100gb, but I have 400gb in my computer incl programs, pictures etc. I guess I'd need $100/computer? Do you only back some of it up? Is it truly seemless? 

The biz plan at $795 seemed a bit high for what I need.


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

The way dropbox works is that it syncs files in real time. Basically you just link a folder on your computer and it's continually monitoring the folder and backing everything up.

It's not really a 'back-up solution' but it makes it very easy to also share directories and large files. I only have about 60 Gigs worth of stuff that I like to keep continually backed up so the $100 plan is fine for me. I almost lost some very important pictures to me and that's why I jumped on board. $100 a year to make sure you don't lose and irreplaceable pictures is certainly a small price to pay.

If you do sign up make sure you use some one's referral link - it gets you (and the referrer) a bit of extra free space. I'm maxed out.


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## Charlie (May 20, 2011)

I'll probably sign up next week. I do need something like this. I'll just have to tweak my file directories first and organize my files better -- something I need to do anyways. Do you find it slows down your computer noticeably? 

Do you want the referral? You did make the sale....


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Charlie said:


> I'll probably sign up next week. I do need something like this. I'll just have to tweak my file directories first and organize my files better -- something I need to do anyways. Do you find it slows down your computer noticeably?
> 
> Do you want the referral? You did make the sale....


You can try it out for free (at least they give you 2.5 gigs free to start (assuming you use a referral)). 

it doesn't slow things down at all - I no longer have any sympathy for people who lose all of their files due to a hardware fault. In this day and age there is no reason for it. Backups are almost effortless now.

Thanks for the referral offer but I'm maxed out already - I used a google adwords hack (which Unfortunately they have shut down). I'm sure someone else will offer their's up!


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## Charlie (May 20, 2011)

Thanks a bunch. At $100 I'll just give it a go.

I'll sign up next week. If anyone wants a referral, let me know....


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## Retired Peasant (Apr 22, 2013)

none said:


> I no longer have any sympathy for people who lose all of their files due to a hardware fault. In this day and age there is no reason for it. Backups are almost effortless now.


Well, not everyone has unlimited/fast internet. There are still places without decent internet (speed and data). It was only 6 months ago, that we were limited to using a turbo stick with 500 Mb/ month for $35 as our primary internet connection. There are people still on dialup.


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## 6811 (Jan 1, 2013)

Maybe I'm old-school but I don't trust on-line backup services and currently use a Western Digital 2 Terabyte drive for my backups. At under $200 it's been keeping my desktop automatically backed up weekly for the last two years. I only use my laptop when I travel, so when I return home I plug it into the WD drive and do a manual backup on it. 

I also use thumb drives to backup any important pics or files. These drives go from 8GB to 64GB and are far more convenient than backing up to a DVD, though I still use DVDs for some things as they are so cheap.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Same as 6811 here, local HD backup with a few 32GB USB sticks kicking around.
HD backup drives, like the WD 2TB are only $110 ... so cheap you could by two of them if needed.


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