In terms of criticality, Twitter may not make your Top 10 list of services to secure. But because social media services are a part of your online identity, Twitter be protected along with your other accounts.
Continue readingSecuring Facebook
Taking these few steps can help to make your Facebook safer to use and more enjoyable as well.
Continue readingSecuring Cortana
More and more privacy rights are being called to the forefront with the various “listening assistants” on almost every device today. Taking these few small steps can help to make your use of them more secure and more enjoyable.
Continue readingSecuring Siri
If you use an iPhone®, you are no doubt familiar with Siri. She is a great little help when you need directions, movie times, trivia, and just about anything else you might want to know.
She is ready to lend a hand at any time — which means that she is always listening. After a deluge of reports in the news about the downside of personal assistants listening a little too much, you might be wondering what you can do to secure Siri. Following are some steps you can take.
The default setting is set for Siri to override your passcode. That default setting would allow a complete stranger to pick up your phone and use it by simply saying, “hey Siri!” To place restrictions on the use of your phone, set it to require your passcode to use Siri. To change this do the following:
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Face ID & Passcode. Or, tap Touch ID & Passcode on devices that do not support Face ID.
- Enter your passcode.
- Ensure that the passcode lock option is turned on.
- Set Require Passcode to immediately.
In the Allow Access When Locked section, turn off the Siri toggle switch.

Once you have completed this setup, you can still say “Hey Siri!” to get her attention. The screen will prompt you to input your passcode; then Siri will give you any info you want. This simple process can help keep Siri from granting access to your phone or iPad to complete strangers.
Siri™, iPhone® and iPad® are trademarks of Apple Inc. |
Securing Alexa
Whether you’ve received the popular smart speaker as a gift, or decided to jump on the 21st century bandwagon of voice assistant-enhanced life, having an always-on speaker in your home can present some risks. Changing some privacy settings on the speaker, and securing the linked Amazon account, will help to mitigate risks.
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