Keeping your Technology Safe and Using Technology to Keep you Safe

 We love technology. However, you may not always take the extra steps to protect your technological investments. You may not realize how technology can help you stay safe as well. There are many free and/or affordable options on the market that are designed to help you protect your investments and to work safely. You simply just have to do your homework on your options.

The number one way to keep your smartphone hack-proof (and all contacts information and e-mails secure) is to require a password for use. Do not use easy to remember passwords like 1-2-3-4, or 2-5-8-0 (straight down the keypad) or personal information, such as your birthday or the last four digits of your phone number. Those kinds of passwords are easy to figure out so you want to make the password harder for someone to figure out and use against you. It’s an extra step but one that can potentially save your business and sanity.

Here are three good rules to technology safety:



1. Keep technology locked up literally and virtually. For instance, don't leave laptops or tablets in the car visible.
   
2. Install a tracking device on valuables (see below).
   
3. Install the same anti-virus software and protections as you would on your home or office PC on your phone. Smartphones are susceptible to the same viruses as computers. Moore emphasized that since we rely on phones and laptops as everyday business tools, a virus can have a devastating financial impact on your livelihood.
   

 Apple has created new technology to protect iPhones called Activation Lock.  Activation Lock will allow owners of an iPhone to erase all information from their smartphone and turn it off from a remote location (if lost or stolen). The only way the devise can be reactivated is by entering the user ID and password.

You should also consider storing documents on a safe cloud platform to keep information on laptops safer. Cloud platforms often offer transaction and form management features in addition to electronic storage. 

Surprisingly, there are a number of safety and security apps or web-based programs on the market. Do your research and determine which features are most important for your business. Do you use your cell phone for business? Do you e-mail and receive client financial documents from your smartphone? Do you carry your laptop with you and use it for work?  Most answer “YES” to many of these questions.

Smartphone Safety

We are multi-taskers. You take phone calls, answer emails, text, juggle busy schedules, are in and out of your car all day and often times start early in the morning and end late at night. Sometimes the everyday things we do can be a danger to ourselves without even realizing it – like texting and driving. Another option for keeping the information on your smartphone safe if it has been lost or stolen is to install a tracking device on it. A tracking device can also be installed on laptops and notebooks. Key features to look for in a good tracking device include:

1. Remote storage and/or secure cloud storage options.
   
2. Encryption feature with a permanent delete (quarantine) option.
   
3. Anti-theft features which remotely locks or wipes data from a missing/stolen device, and tracks the device via GPS, Wi-Fi, and phone signal. A bonus feature is that some can remotely take picture through the device’s camera to catch any thieves in the act of using the device.
   
4. Real-time internet threat protection to block dangerous text links and keep you safe online.
   
5. If you have researched some of the info-based websites, you know that you can enter a phone number and find out personal information about anyone. Utilize the service that offers a local number, with a local area code, not affiliated with your actual cell number. That makes it impossible to track you in that manner. It works with all carriers.
   

With the significant investment we make in technological tools it is a financial and business set-back when your laptop, smartphone, net/notebook, purse, camera has been lost or stolen. There is amazing technology on the market that can act as an electronic “leash.” These devices signal when you wander a preset distance from your property, i.e. 60 feet. You can also get “last seen” GPS information. Many of the units are portable and can fit in a wallet or on a keychain.

Also invest in an encryption product for your laptop hard drive. If it's lost or stolen, the thief can't gain access to your confidential data or your client's data.  

Personal Safety

I was fascinated to know that there is a clever GPS enabled ring that broadcasts your location if you signal for help. This device allows you to push a button when you feel threatened while at a showing or during an open house. Your emergency contacts then receive a text with your location, a GPS map link, and your medical history. It can also provide up-to-the minute location tracking. Your contacts will be able to call 911 for you and provide pertinent details.

If you prefer not to wear locator jewelry, you can still provide your location, in case you need to signal for help. There is a web based application that sends alerts and text messages to your contact list when you signal that you are in danger. You can record critical information that law enforcement officials will need to locate you, including client info, your vehicle description and showing information. You also have the ability to drop digital “bread crumbs” when working.

Knowing there is technology out there designed to keep you safe on the job and knowing your options and what works best for you will help you to make well informed decisions on what you need to maintain your personal safety.

That is a difficult question to answer. Most individuals that are concerned about their personal safety to the extent that they have obtained a concealed handgun license and feel they are adequately trained to deal with a self-defense encounter should they be confronted with one. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth. 

The gun owner with just the basic training for the  Ohio CCW permit is wholly unprepared for anything but the most basic of self-defense with a handgun.  During the Fort Hood event, 13 people were killed and another 30 were injured. One trained police officer responding to the incident stated that she saw a man dressed in a military uniform carrying a gun when she arrived at the scene. The man pointed his gun at her, at which point she was temporarily blinded by the laser sight that was mounted to the man’s gun when the laser beam was shined in her eyes. In response, she retreated to cover behind a wall and began firing at the man as he ran towards her firing his pistol. The officer’s shots were ineffective and the assailant rounded the corner. At that point the two exchanged gunfire at a distance of about 8 feet. The officer was hit 3 times and the assailant was grazed by one bullet fired by the officer. Both individuals’ pistols malfunctioned—which probably saved her from becoming the 14th fatality. The officer was unable to clear her malfunction and get her pistol working again. The assailant then kicked the pistol out of the officer’s hand and cleared his own malfunction, but was shot by other responding officers before finding another victim to shoot.

Could you have effectively dealt with this fast-moving action if you were involved? Do you know to instinctively move out of the way to cover? Or, will you just freeze there trying to figure out what is happening?  Do you know the difference between cover and concealment? (A hint…one of them will stop bullets from striking you and the other won’t.) Have you ever fired your gun from behind cover? Do you know how to minimize your exposure to your attacker’s gunfire when you are shooting from behind cover? Have you ever practiced shooting at a moving target, especially one moving directly towards you? Have you practiced shooting from a retention position to deal with an attacker that is less than an arm’s length from you? Have you ever shot your gun from a position other than standing? Can you even get to your gun from any position other than standing? Do you know how to rapidly clear any malfunction that your gun may have? Do you even know how to recognize that your gun has malfunctioned? Do you know how to retain control of your gun when someone is trying to take it away from you? Do you know how to accomplish trauma “self-aid” should you be injured during a gunfight and there is no one around to immediately help you? All of these are things you could easily have to deal with during and in the immediate aftermath of a gunfight. Do you have the training and skills to perform them quickly and effectively?

 The typical gun owner/CCW permit holder gets even less training with their firearms. The basic firearms courses typically do not deal with the things that will improve your abilities in a gunfight—things like having the proper mindset, understanding situational awareness, gun fighting tactics, etc. The training that is required is typically focused on safe handling of firearms, basic nomenclature, shooting fundamentals, and that particular jurisdiction’s concealed carry laws. While these are all important, there is much more that you need to know if you hope to come out on top should gunfire erupt during an encounter. 

I tell many of my CCW students taking the basic Ohio concealed carry course that their chances of surviving a gunfight based on that training alone is 50% at best. Those odds are not good enough
for me and I hope you feel the same way. So, what should you do…GET ADDITIONAL TRAINING!! 

Advanced training like the NRA’s Personal Protection in the Home (PPITH), and Trigger Actions, Defensive Shooting, are offered by Trigger Action, LLC.  These courses include accessing your handgun from its concealed carry position and drawing it quickly from a holster, shooting rapid and accurate follow-up shots, shooting from behind cover/concealment, shooting while moving, dealing with multiple assailants, shooting at varying distances from very close to far, quickly reloading your firearm, and clearing malfunctions. And these are just the skills you need to master in using your handgun. There are other skills that are also needed such as understanding the psychological and physiological affects of stress, improving your situational awareness, etc. 

So the answer to the question "Can you Survive a Self-Defense Encounter" really comes down to how prepared you feel you need to be should you become involved in a encounter. Waiting until that moment to realize you are not prepared enough will not increase your chances of coming out on top at all.