Hi everyone, Zarte here! Bear with me just a moment – I’m changing my passwords to something a little more secure, I won’t be long...
...OK, and I’m with you.
Why am I changing my passwords? Well, you see I’ve heard a lot of people talking about this KRACK revelation, and what it could mean for us all – so I’ve just been trying to take a few precautions to make sure I’m not going to be affected.
OK, I can see a few of you staring at me a little blankly, so let’s go through this – what is KRACK and should you be scared by it?
Until now, wi-fi connections have been protected by WPA2 encryption. It’s the best encryption that we presently have, and unfortunately, it’s been breached. This means that all of the data that travels across a WiFi connection, such as passwords, login details, banking information, and a myriad of other scary sounding sensitive data could be intercepted by malevolent individuals.
This means that things are not completely secure could all be at risk.
I grant you that this might sound particularly like good news, but the fact is, actually, there’s no need to be scared. That’s also not to say that you shouldn’t be paying attention to it though. If you’re lax with your security, then you could potentially be at risk, but taking a few precautions should hugely reduce your risks of anything untoward happening.
First of all, as simple as it sounds, we can’t reiterate enough. Make sure your passwords are strong. It’s no longer any good just having your surname as a password. We’ve had lots of conversations in these articles and videos about passwords, but if you’re wondering how best to choose a password, then a good link to read can be found here
Additionally, make sure that your anti-virus software is up to date. Whilst KRACK is not a virus, and therefore in and of itself cannot be detected, things that less than scrupulous people might leave in order to maximise the chaos they can wreak, could be, and therefore it’s still an important step to take.
The other thing that needs keeping up to date is any device which you use to access wireless Internet. Phones, tablets, as well as obviously your desktops and laptops will be included in this, as all of them will have regular software updates available. Whilst hackers will continually try to get ahead of the game, the fact is they can’t trouble technology that they’re not yet aware of. Making sure that everything is in its most up to date version guarantees that you’re staying one step ahead of the game.
If you’re unsure of how to do any of this, then we’re absolutely available at any time to either discuss or perhaps implement solutions for you, to give you the best possible chance to avoid falling foul of any of the nastiness associated with KRACK or any other threat. We’re obsessed with making our customers feel as safe in what they’re doing as we possibly can. The most important thing to bear in mind with all of this is the tone of what you might hear in various media.
The fact is that misery sells news, and so several major news outlets’ coverage of this story is excessively dramatic, when the appropriate tone is more informative, with a note of caution. Additionally, specific computing sources may have secondary motives. Just in my research for this I discovered several companies trying to explain how their product was the way around KRACK. Whilst we ARE happy to help with our own products and services, the purpose of these articles and blogs has always been first and foremost to provide you with the requisite information to make informed decisions on your own PC health. Anything else has always been secondary.
So please, for this, and other issues in the area, do check out our blog to see if there’s an article or video on there that could help you. And if there’s not, and you’d like us to address an issue, drop us an e-mail or give us a call and we’d be delighted to do something about it!
Until next time,
Zarte