Full Description
Protecting your digital life is easier than you think.
You don't need to be a computer expert to improve your cybersecurity and protect your privacy. Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons was written for regular, everyday people—though even technically savvy readers will find plenty of useful tips. It explains what you need to know in plain English, without judgment, scare tactics, or unnecessary jargon.
Protecting your digital domain is much like defending a medieval castle. Wide moats, towering walls, and trained guards provide defense in depth against the most common threats. But attempting to dragon-proof your castle would be counterproductive and costly. The goal is to protect your devices, accounts, and personal information from the most likely and impactful hazards—not a targeted attack by the NSA. Like wearing seat belts and sunscreen in the real world, there are dozens of simple, effective precautions we can take in the digital world.
Author Carey Parker has structured this book to give you the greatest benefit for the least effort. Each chapter ends with a practical checklist—more than 230 tips in all—while the book explains why these things matter using entertaining analogies and straightforward explanations. A free online companion workbook provides up-to-date product recommendations and step-by-step instructions, personalizes the guidance for your devices, and lets you track your progress. As technology changes, the workbook can change with it.
This fully revised sixth edition adds an entirely new chapter on artificial intelligence and substantially updates the rest of the book to address today's security threats, privacy concerns, technologies, and tools.
What You Will Learn
Secure your computers, smartphones, accounts, and home network
Protect your privacy and minimize your digital footprint
Master passwords, passkeys, and multifactor authentication
Browse and search the web safely and privately
Shop and bank online with greater security and confidence
Protect yourself from scams, identity theft, and malware
Help your children navigate the digital world safely
Block invasive tracking, data mining, and malicious advertising
Understand the security and privacy implications of artificial intelligence
Protect your communications with end-to-end encryption
Keep smart devices from spying on you
Automatically back up your important data
Recover from hacked accounts, data breaches, and malware
Understand how computers, the internet, VPNs, and encryption really work
And much more!
