You’ll need the router’s IP address, which you can find by looking at the network connection information under your computer’s settings, whether you have a Windows machine or a Mac. You can get to the router settings through any web browser on your computer. The so-called Krack vulnerability was a reminder of the critical role wireless routers play as the connection point between the gadgetry in our homes and the internet.Īnd it alerted many consumers to how important it is to check for router updates and to understand your router’s encryption settings. This fall, researchers revealed that a serious security flaw could affect the WiFi networks in millions of homes. Windows 10 Home users looking to add full disk encryption will either have to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for $100 or choose a third-party solution such as the open-source tool VeraCrypt. It’s not much more difficult to encrypt your Windows laptop, but there is one complication: Only Windows 10 Pro, and not the more consumer-oriented Windows 10 Home, supports full disk encryption.įor Windows 10 Pro users, enabling encryption (known as BitLocker) is merely a matter of clicking the Start button, typing “encryption,” then selecting Manage BitLocker. From there you can enable FileVault, which requires you to choose a passcode. Setting this up is as simple as opening your Mac’s System Preferences, then navigating to the Security & Privacy section. Macs have the advantage here because the latest version of macOS, known as High Sierra, supports full disk encryption out of the box. Of course, as useful as smartphones are, people store lots of documents on their computers, from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets with family or business budgets to massive photo collections.Įnabling encryption on your Mac or Windows laptop is almost as easy as doing it on a smartphone. The app, she says, could be “history textbook-worthy-well, maybe not history textbook-worthy, but computer science textbook-worthy.” “They’ve kind of cracked a puzzle,” says Harlo Holmes, director of newsroom digital security at Freedom of the Press Foundation, by combining ease of use and strong encryption. It gets the nod for several reasons, including the fact that it works on both Android and iOS devices, and how little user information the service collects. However, security experts generally recommend an app called Signal. (Texts sent between iMessage and another messaging app are not encrypted.) WhatsApp also uses encryption. You may already be doing this: Apple’s iMessage is encrypted, as long as you’re texting someone else who is also using iMessage. Now that your smartphone is encrypted, you may want to take an extra step by using a encrypted messaging service to prevent your text messages from being read in transit. If you’re having trouble, try searching for “encryption” under Settings.) If you have an Apple iPhone, you just need to create a passcode during setup, or later on by going to the Passwords and Security section of the Settings app.Įncrypting an Android smartphone is just as easy and can be done either at the time of setup or by navigating to Settings, selecting Security, and selecting Encrypt Device. “In the hierarchy of recommendations that we make,” says Christine Schoellhorn, the project’s product manager, “most users will get a recommendation around encrypting their devices.” (She say most users will also be advised to use two-factor authentication and a password manager.)Įncrypting your smartphone is a simple task. The organization recently launched an online tool called Security Planner, supported by Consumers Union, that gives users customized advice on protecting their personal information. That’s why Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto, recommends that consumers encrypt their smartphones. Everything you do on a mobile device adds to the potentially sensitive data stored on it-from last-minute Valentine’s Day shopping to video chats to logging in to your email account.Īll that makes the phone something like a safe deposit box of data, one that you can accidentally leave in a restaurant or have stolen from a bag.
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