Don't open that door!

Dear Hipster:

I remember reading about how you recommended that people should take an interest in their own security, rather than trusting firewalls or whatever. Now, the Sony hacking scandal is all in the news, and I guess they should have listened to you. Anyways, am I going to get hacked next?

— John, Del Cerro

Most hackings work because someone opens the door for the hackers, often by opening bad files that grant hackers access to private networks. Let’s say you’re at home, and a shady looking guy you’ve never met comes to your door, and he has a box of onion-scented burlap underwear that he claims you ordered from his company’s website. You say you didn’t order any onion-scented burlap underwear, but he says, “Oh, yes, you most certainly did,” and he can’t show it to you unless you let him come inside, and would you mind locking the doors and pulling the curtains while you’re at it?

People will do things on their computers that they would never do in real life, like open unsolicited files from unknown sources. They also tend to keep documents on their computers, sometimes even naming them “PASSWORDS.” Seriously. Don’t do that!