Our December Seminar!
This Seminar was titled, “I Dwell In Possibility.” I came up with this by first looking at famous birthdays that took place on December 10th. As I went down the list, I came across Emily Dickinson’s name. I then searched for famous quotes by her and that’s where I found “I dwell in possibility.” Since I feel we dwell with all kinds of possibilities in the computing world, this seemed fitting!
Following my method of creating seminar titles, perhaps you can search and discover how I settled on “First Bogart, Then Kroc, And Finally Rickman” for our January seminar.
For those of you who were able to attend, thanks so much for coming. My impression was that everyone there learned something new!! Whether you attended or not, you’ll find all the details about the seminar on this page. (I hope you’ll be able to attend our January 14th seminar – the more people, the more great questions, and the more we all learn.)
On this page, I’ll review what we went over. Please don’t hesitate to email me with any questions.
Cyber Forensic Technician
After the initial housekeeping and humor slides, I asked everyone to raise their hand when I mentioned their computing expertise. They could choose from “novice, okay, better than most or expert. No one raised their hand for expert! I then explained that by the end of the seminar, everyone in attendance would earn the title of “Cyber Forensic Technician!”
Pastor Anil – Was His Email Hacked?
A few weeks ago, some people received an email that appeared to be from Pastor Anil. It was a friendly email asking the recipient if they had a minute. It was sent from the email address singh.trinityjb-at- gmail.com. (I’m not using the @ symbol for security reasons.) However, the Pastor’s real email address is singh-at-trinityjb.org. The question at the time: “Was Pastor Anil’s email hacked?.”
After looking at the facts; 1) it wasn’t from the Pastor’s real email address; 2) only a few of his contacts received the email; and, 3) there were no “hacker” filters in his email settings, we concluded that it wasn’t his email that was hacked. Still, as a precaution, Pastor Anil did change his email password.
If Not His Email, Whose?
Since we determined Pastor Anil’s email wasn’t hacked, that meant someone else’s email was. This person had to have had the Pastor’s email address along with the few other emails that received the scam email. Unfortunately, it’s probably unlikely that we can figure out exactly whose email was hacked. The best that can be done is to spread the word that someone who has the Pastor’s email address could be the victim.
Email Rules a.k.a Filters a.k.a Filter Rules
I explained how hacker rules almost always start out with periods. In fact, a hacker filter may be all periods. These rules do things like re-direct emails sent to a legitimate email address to the hacker’s address. Other rules might block a person from seeing that emails are bouncing back after the hacker sends out fake emails. I showed a hacker rule during the PowerPoint. (You can see my example on page 44 of the presentation which you’ll find at the bottom under Resources.)
A Real Hacked Email Account
Next, I showed an example of a real hacked email account. The scammer sent out emails from within the hacked email and then set up rules so that replies would go to him or her.
Another Kind of Hack
Sometimes, people will receive an email that seems to be coming from someone you know but the email address it was sent from doesn’t match. These emails often include fake links all in an effort to scam you.
Things A Hacker May Do If They Break Into Your Email Account
I then shared a list of things a hacker might do if they can get into your email account:
- 1. Create a rule to forward emails coming to you.
- 2. Steal all your contacts – Address book entries
- 3. Delete all your contacts.
- 4. Delete all your emails stored on your email provider’s server.
- 5. Spam enough emails to get you cut off by your provider.
- 6. Change your security questions and answers.
Reasons Hackers Are Able To Hack Your Email
It’s difficult to believe but the number one reason hackers can access email is that people make their passwords too easy! Except for my password to log in to my password manager, Roboform, my most difficult password is on my email. Stop using easy passwords on email! At this point, I explained the FBI’s method of creating secure passwords. (I’ve blogged about this before. If you need to refresh or read for the first time, just visit our page HERE.) There are other reasons a hacker can break into your email account:
- You use the same password other places and the hacker gained access there or discovered your password on the dark web.
- You clicked on a malicious link in your email.
Things You Should Do To Secure Your Email
Next, I shared a list of things you should do to secure your email:
- Change your password to a secure password not used anywhere else.
- Enable 2-factor authentication.
- Make sure you back up phone #s and email addresses and that they are current.
- Use BCC:
- Encourage your family, friends, and others to do the same things listed here.
- Don’t respond to suspicious emails.
- Use a password manager.
- Don’t store passwords in browsers.
It’s Not Just Email
I went on to talk about smartphones. They are often sources of hacks. Hackers will send you text messages which are worded in an attempt to appeal to your sense of curiosity. You should never respond to these types of text messages even in an attempt to tell the person you’re “on to them!” Any response at all might get you into trouble.
Catfishing
My final subject for the seminar was “Catfishing.” I explained that the term refers to deceptive activity in which a person creates a fake identity or a fictional persona on a Social Media site. I gave examples of how I’ve been contacted by “Shania Twain” catfishers along with Bri Teresi (Pro golfer) fake accounts.
I shared some clues to figure out if someone is catfishing you. The things to look for are: a very recently created profile; no personal pictures, only professional ones; few friends or followers; and avoiding phone calls and face-to-face meetings.
The 4KCC YouTube Channel
YouTube Channel
Several times during the seminar, I referred to my YouTube Channel.
For the record, I moved to creating videos since I often get asked the same questions multiple times by different people. My video selection varies and covers computers, tablets, smartphones, printers, and more. I strongly urge you to subscribe to my channel, if you haven’t already. Also, if you can “Like” my videos and leave comments, that really helps with my Google Search results. Instead of emailing me a nice comment, I respectfully ask that you comment under the video instead.
You do need to know this: you can only “Like,” “Subscribe” or comment if you have a Google account. (By the way, a Gmail account and a Google account are the same.) If you have an Android device, you already have a Gmail account, even if you aren’t using it. If you’d like to help me on YouTube and don’t have a Gmail account, it’s easy to sign up and it’s free! You can just get started HERE.
If you’re unsure how to subscribe, I have a video explaining the process! You’ll find it here:
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is coming to Port Saint Lucie High School where Joyce is the Music Director. Tickets are on sale now and shows are beginning to sell out. Now is the time to get your tickets. The show will run during the last week of January 2023 and the first week of February 2023. Get all the information about the show HERE.
Our Next Seminar
Our next seminar will be Saturday, January 14, 2023. You can get all the seminar information by visiting our seminar page: https://www.4kcc.com/seminars. We hope to see you then!
Resources
If you’d like to review the PowerPoint presentation I used, you’ll find it in PDF format HERE.