skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

A Spring Cleaning for Your Cyber Life

play audio
Play

Wednesday, April 18, 2018   

RALEIGH, N.C. - When was the last time you cleaned out your inbox or scrubbed the apps on your phone you don't use?

With spring cleaning on the minds of many, tech experts say home computers also need cleaning - that is, the email inbox and hard drive. Taking care of this digital housekeeping will help protect you from scammers and hackers, in addition to making your daily life easier, said Russell Schrader,. executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance.

"We're saying go through and get rid of apps that you haven't used," he said, "Clean out your inbox. Look at who is using what part of your information. Open up some space on your hard drive. Just get rid of all those things that might cause problems later on."

Schrader said it's also a good time to review your privacy and security settings on websites and make sure you're comfortable with the information you're sharing. Don't forget your location services and Bluetooth settings on mobile phones, he said, since many apps are able to track your location and activity.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently released new password recommendations. After years of experts suggesting obscure passwords filled with upper- and lower-case letters mixed with punctuation marks, Schrader said it's now considered better to use long phrases you can remember, even if they're lines from nursery rhymes or songs.

"What people do now is use pass phrases, things that are long, the longer the better, in terms of hacking," he said, "and they don't have to be as tricky. They just need to be long and memorable."

Schrader said it's also a good time to back up important data on a cloud or external hard drive.

More information is online at staysafeonline.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021