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<blockquote data-quote="tarheel" data-source="post: 1702012" data-attributes="member: 58513">OK,&nbsp; I am the very, very low end on tech knowledge / ability.&nbsp; I have read all the post in this thread on &quot;Security&quot;.&nbsp; Most of it (almost all of it) is over my head. So, here goes: I am running an iMac, late 2013, Intel i7 quad core, 16 gigs RAM,&amp; a 500 SDD that's only 1/4 full.&nbsp; OSX Yosemite, 10.10.5 - and everything is working fine.&nbsp; All the news about hackers holding companies and even individuals hostage until they pay to have their computer unlocked is un-nerving at the least.Here's what I do: (I am retired and spend at least two hours daily on line): I send receive e-mail via g-mail, transact brokerage transactions and on-line banking stuff, visit photography web sites, Amazon, - all pretty much main stream sites.After reading all the issues on VPNs and security on my iMac I clicked on: &quot;System Preferences&quot;, &quot;Security &amp; Privacy&quot;, and then &quot;Firewall&quot;.&nbsp; The Firewall was turned off - so I turned in on and then sent a test g-mail message and logged into one of the financial web sites and everything worked fine.&nbsp; Oh yeah, I have the Apple Time Machine regularly backing up my whole hard drive.&nbsp; If, unlikely as it is, a hacker encrypted my computer hard drive would the copy of my hard drive on my Time Machine also be encrypted?&nbsp; I connect to the internet via an ATT phone line DSL.&nbsp; See, I really am lost in the computer world!&nbsp; Thanks!And, as a footnote:&nbsp; I would gladly pay the $6. to $8. a month the companies charge for their step-up (from their free version) for VPN service - but - do I really need that?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="tarheel, post: 1702012, member: 58513"] OK, I am the very, very low end on tech knowledge / ability. I have read all the post in this thread on "Security". Most of it (almost all of it) is over my head. So, here goes: I am running an iMac, late 2013, Intel i7 quad core, 16 gigs RAM, & a 500 SDD that's only 1/4 full. OSX Yosemite, 10.10.5 - and everything is working fine. All the news about hackers holding companies and even individuals hostage until they pay to have their computer unlocked is un-nerving at the least. Here's what I do: (I am retired and spend at least two hours daily on line): I send receive e-mail via g-mail, transact brokerage transactions and on-line banking stuff, visit photography web sites, Amazon, - all pretty much main stream sites. After reading all the issues on VPNs and security on my iMac I clicked on: "System Preferences", "Security & Privacy", and then "Firewall". The Firewall was turned off - so I turned in on and then sent a test g-mail message and logged into one of the financial web sites and everything worked fine. Oh yeah, I have the Apple Time Machine regularly backing up my whole hard drive. If, unlikely as it is, a hacker encrypted my computer hard drive would the copy of my hard drive on my Time Machine also be encrypted? I connect to the internet via an ATT phone line DSL. See, I really am lost in the computer world! Thanks! And, as a footnote: I would gladly pay the $6. to $8. a month the companies charge for their step-up (from their free version) for VPN service - but - do I really need that? [/QUOTE]

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