Help Getting Your Cyber Security Ducks in a Row
Since I’ve been teaching practical cyber security for counsellors, small businesses and non-profits, I’ve gotten an excellent question from a recent participant in the training about where and how to get help implementing the security updates to your computer and phone for your practices, as it can be overwhelming to set it all up. I’m going to give you some principles about how to find and talk to an in-person provider, and let you know what I’m available to do for you either locallly in Vancouver or remotely.
1) Remote Support: I’m available to do a remote support session via zoom on your laptop if you need help with setting up anything I can view on your screen, and on a windows computer such as email digital signature, sync, carbonite, or a password manager. In this session I can either do it for you ( you can watch or get a coffee) or I can walk you through doing it yourself. Just call or email to book. I charge an hourly rate for this service.
2) In-Person Support: If you’d like to drop your computer off somewhere, then the place you bought it from is a good place to start for this kind of service. If that’s not an opton, a local google search for “computer tech updates in person near me” (or this lookup site for Macs and iPhones) will give you a list of qualified computer repair and service places.
If you feel daunted about what to ask them to do, I find that having the correct jargon helps. Here’s what to ask for:
“I would like you to:
- enable encryption on my main data drive and put the key on a USB drive for me. I want it to open the encryption when I log in to my machine
- install carbonite – (You will need to purchase a carbonite subscription online and provide the tech with the login details. (www.carbonite.com))
- install sync, and place all my business files in the _____ folder into it. (You will need to purchase a subscription online on the sync website beforehand and provide the tech with the login details. (www.sync.com))
- install a password manager (1password) and put the backup keys in the sync folder. (Again, you’ll need to purchase the subscription first.)
- Sell me a removable hard drive, format it NTFS and encrypt it as well, set to open when attached to my computer with the computer logged in.
- Lead me through setting up biometrics on my laptop (This is only possible if your laptop has a little fingerprint reader, it often looks like a little square on your touchpad if you are using a laptop – since they need your finger or face to do this, you’ll need to be there when they set this part up”
For a phone provider – when getting a new phone, asks the sales person if the phone can be encrypted, and if so, how to turn that on. Or you could just get a google pixel, which comes with encryption built in and enabled. You can also ask the place where you bought your phone from to install an antivirus app on it, and show you how to install signal.
3) But how do I use it? If you want a training session on using any of these tools, I can help you with that. We can make an appointment for me to walk you through any of this over zoom, with screen sharing.
