Episode 214

full
Published on:

29th Jun 2022

Talking Cybersecurity

In this episode of Wine and Dime, TJ Meehan joins us to talk about cybersecurity and offer a few recommendations and best practices that can help protect you online!

What is cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks. Also known as information technology (IT) security, cybersecurity measures are designed to combat threats against networked systems and applications, whether those threats originate from inside or outside of an organization.

Don't miss out on valuable insights and empowering financial advice! Subscribe to "Money Roots" today to embark on a journey of financial growth and empowerment. Join host Amy Irvine as she simplifies personal finance, making it accessible to everyone, from beginners to seasoned experts. By subscribing, you'll stay up-to-date with each episode, gaining access to practical tips, inspiring stories, and expert insights that will help you take control of your financial future. Whether you're looking to budget smarter, invest wisely, or secure your retirement, "Money Roots" has something for everyone. Subscribe now and start nurturing your financial well-being!

If you have any questions that you would like answered on the show, feel free to email us at info@rootedpg.com

Or visit us at www.rootedpg.com/podcasts for full show notes and links!

Wine Selection of the Week

St Innocent Winery

St. Innocent began as an idea conceived in a moment of passion and inspiration in 1983. Mark Vlossak spent the next five years studying, taking classes, and apprenticing with Oregon wine pioneer, Fred Arterberry. In 1988, St. Innocent Winery was founded. Our goal is to produce wines that respect the quality and tradition of the Old World in one of the newest and most exciting wine growing regions on the planet: Oregon's Willamette Valley. 

Show Note Links

This episode is brought to you by Rooted Planning Group. Rooted Planning Group is a fee-only financial planning firm that specializes in working with women in their 30s and 40s who want to take control of their finances and plan for the future. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to make a big change, Rooted Planning Group can help.

Visit www.rootedpg.com to learn more.

Transcript
Amy:

Every week.

Amy:

It's my goal to share financial information that helps you in both

Amy:

your life and financial vineyard.

Amy:

We hope it takes you from your roots to the journey of your binds and the

Amy:

influences in the air that helped craft your delicious life like wine life and

Amy:

finances have different pellets that should be celebrated and not judged.

Amy:

Welcome to this edition of wine and dime with Amy Irvine and TJ Mann.

Amy:

TJ, welcome back to the show.

TJ:

Thanks for having me.

Amy:

So as we always do let's start the show by asking if there's any

Amy:

particular good wines that you have found or anything that you'd like to

Amy:

share could be beer with the, with the listeners as they listen to this topic

Amy:

that is around cyber security, which requires something to go along with

TJ:

it.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Well, as far as wine, yeah, it's not really my.

TJ:

My thing.

TJ:

So we really haven't tried anything new.

TJ:

I know Heather keeps trying like all the flavored pineapple or whatever the

TJ:

season is season is that's coming around.

TJ:

For me right now, we're in summer beers.

TJ:

So yeah, I fall back on Sam Adams summer.

TJ:

That's the, that's my favorite one to, to drink at this point of the.

TJ:

I guess I'm so

Amy:

weird.

Amy:

Cuz I even like, like stouts and porters this time of the year, even though they're

Amy:

heavier, it's kind of like my wine.

Amy:

So I still like, I mean, I will go with some whites occasionally,

Amy:

but I still like my dark reds.

Amy:

This podcast is gonna be coming out in, I think the end of

Amy:

June, mid beginning of July.

Amy:

And Brett and I are traveling out to Oregon, the Willamette valley area.

Amy:

So I've been looking at all the different wineries that are out

Amy:

there, and we've been kind of trying to put together a list.

Amy:

There's been several that we've come up with.

Amy:

I mentioned.

Amy:

I think in one of the podcasts that I recorded recently, I

Amy:

mentioned one called innocent St.

Amy:

Innocent.

Amy:

I thought that was a fun, fun winery, but there's a few others

Amy:

that are there's a whole kinda like it is here in the finger lakes.

Amy:

There's a bunch of different, you know, wineries that are in the area.

Amy:

And so Brent and I are, are gonna put together a list.

Amy:

So for For August, I'll have a whole list of wineries that I

Amy:

have visited out in the Willamette valley area and I'm super excited.

Amy:

They're Pinot, they're known for their Pinot noirs.

Amy:

So I'm really, really looking forward to that.

Amy:

I'll I guess, stay tuned for additional

TJ:

information.

TJ:

If you're looking

Amy:

for Oregon wine, sounds like a fun trip.

Amy:

It will be first vacation in a long time for he and I that's a true blue.

Amy:

Shut down and, you know, focus on hiking and relaxing.

Amy:

So I'm excited.

Amy:

Well, let's kind of dig into the topic that I, I think this is something we've

Amy:

heard a lot about lately is cybersecurity.

Amy:

So I wanted to, to have a conversation around the particular topic in

Amy:

general, because a lot of people are asking me questions and I'm

Amy:

certainly not a cybersecurity expert, nor are you by trade.

Amy:

But we know.

Amy:

Probably more than the average person, I would guess around cybersecurity.

Amy:

I need to know it for the business purposes.

Amy:

And you've just kind of taken an interest in general about the, the

Amy:

topic and have implemented and given suggestions to a lot of people.

Amy:

So that's true.

Amy:

Maybe maybe just kind of topic by topic.

Amy:

We can, can chat about it a little bit.

Amy:

Lately, what I've been hearing more and more is questions about cell phones.

Amy:

Mm-hmm and whether or not people like, are there texts encrypted?

Amy:

Are there, you know, is some stuff flowing through cell phones, encrypted?

Amy:

Is there links that they're getting that they shouldn't be clicking on?

Amy:

What are your thoughts around cell phones and even landlines?

TJ:

So, I mean with cell phones, I mean, of course there's, there's, open-ended

TJ:

stuff that happens all the time.

TJ:

But there are ways to prevent it.

TJ:

You know, with, with Android devices, there's certain apps that you can get

TJ:

that will have end to end encryption mm-hmm which is always nice.

TJ:

As far as like, like your banking apps and, and things like that, as

TJ:

long as they're from a secure store.

TJ:

So either the Android store or the iPhone store directly, not side

TJ:

loaded, nothing weird going on.

TJ:

They are extremely safe encryption end to end.

TJ:

Everything's good to go.

TJ:

Now that's, that's saying, you know, that's for a later topic, but that.

TJ:

On a secure network as well.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I

Amy:

think that's an important, important, important part of it, but yeah.

Amy:

And even knowing, like, how does somebody know if it's end to end in encryption?

Amy:

Is there a way that they can investigate that?

TJ:

I mean, like I said, if you're downloading from a safe.

TJ:

Store mm-hmm so Google store, you know, Android store or your iPhone

TJ:

store, those are for the most part, especially the apple store.

TJ:

Those are flushed out.

TJ:

Those are set.

TJ:

And if they get, they can't, they can't work around that.

TJ:

Like they have to, in order to be on the store, they have to be

TJ:

safe side loaded apps, though.

TJ:

Those are the where the real problem lies and.

TJ:

If you're siloing apps on your store, on your phone, then basically any app

TJ:

on your phone could be vulnerable.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Because that's where malicious code can come into play.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Most of the time, of course, some stuff slips through through, you

TJ:

know, the, the Android store.

TJ:

Um, But those are usually in games or in weird things.

TJ:

If it's, if it's a legitimate banking app, You're you're gonna be pretty safe.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

As long as you're on a secure network, I mean, as a, I'm looking

TJ:

at an article right here and I'll put it in the show notes.

TJ:

This is a quote from the author.

TJ:

If you download a mobile app from a secure store that is just as

TJ:

safe as visiting a bank branch.

TJ:

And this is said by Paul Benda he's senior, senior vice president

TJ:

of risk and cybersecurity.

TJ:

Policy American bankers association.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

So a pretty reputable source.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And you know, if, if he's saying it's pretty safe you're, you're good to go.

TJ:

He also says further down here, banks use extremely secure

TJ:

high end encryption technology.

TJ:

We like saying that bank apps are like having a bank branch in your pocket.

TJ:

So as far as that goes, yeah.

TJ:

As far as that goes, that's where you're gonna be good to go.

TJ:

But it, in the same article, as you read down through it, that's where

TJ:

I'm talking about those side loaded apps that can have stuff that can.

TJ:

Mess with your, you know, that can put code on your laptop or on

TJ:

your computer or on your phone.

TJ:

I mean, sorry, mm-hmm, that can kind of supersede that.

TJ:

And that's where you just wanna be the safest, if you're side

TJ:

loading apps on your phone and putting yourself at major risk.

TJ:

Right.

TJ:

And, and basically for the people who don't know side loading just means

TJ:

you're getting it from a store, other.

TJ:

A secure store.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

So there's only really like three out there that I would say are secure.

TJ:

There's there's your sta your standard Androids Google play store, your apple

TJ:

store and to a certain degree, the Amazon store where you get like your

TJ:

Kindle apps and things like that.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

There's others out there.

TJ:

But I don't ever touch 'em there's just, you know, basically everything safe is

TJ:

on those three stores for the most part.

Amy:

So let, I guess let's talk a little bit too about the links

Amy:

that come in, like, like what was it recently that I saw?

Amy:

It was like the department of motor vehicles.

Amy:

I, it was some kind of scam that came through.

Amy:

Like you have unpaid registration or unpaid something.

Amy:

It was some scam.

Amy:

I mean, I do get text alerts from some of these organizations that tell

Amy:

me, like, it's time to renew and that sort of stuff, but they generally

Amy:

don't have links in them or if the link, you know, like the link usually

Amy:

is more of like, again, text driven.

Amy:

Have you seen a flare from that perspective at all?

TJ:

For sure.

TJ:

I mean, I get, I don't know my, my, my number must be out there somewhere.

TJ:

I.

TJ:

Get stuff all the time that comes through text, I just send it to spam.

TJ:

Just be you just have to be super mindful and play.

TJ:

I think on that, on that play it better safe than sorry, type thing.

TJ:

Mm-hmm if, if you think it's legit, don't click the link in the email or the

TJ:

text go directly to the website, right?

TJ:

Don't call the number that it came in on get the number directly

TJ:

from the website or from wherever.

TJ:

It, it that's, I think the safest route for any of things like that, I, I try

TJ:

never to click links in email or text.

TJ:

The phishing scams have become very sophisticated.

TJ:

And it's, it's just, if something doesn't smell, right, just, just go, you.

TJ:

Go the go the safer route and go directly to the website.

TJ:

I, I generally

Amy:

don't and even if it smells right, maybe still do that too,

Amy:

just to get yourself into the habit.

Amy:

Right.

TJ:

If you weren't expecting the email or the text.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

You know, if you really weren't expecting it, if you didn't click

TJ:

something that said, send me an email.

TJ:

Or text then I would stay away from it for the most part.

Amy:

How about things like VPNs I've, I've got an app that actually I can

Amy:

put on my phone as well as my iPad and you know, my computer and everything.

Amy:

Are they a good way to protect you?

TJ:

I mean, they can be they, so the best thing about a VPN

TJ:

for, for people who don't know.

TJ:

A VPN is, is stands for virtual private network.

TJ:

And what a VPN kind of in layman's terms does is, is you take your connection

TJ:

and connect to a central server somewhere, wherever you connect it to.

TJ:

So say that server is in you connected to mm-hmm . So say

TJ:

that server is in New York city.

TJ:

All your data would go through a server in New York city and then out to the.

TJ:

That you're trying to, to reach that's the, you know, the,

TJ:

the easy definition of it.

TJ:

Mm-hmm, the best part about a VPN though, is that traffic is

TJ:

now encrypted from end to end.

TJ:

So as soon as it leaves your phone and goes to the network in the middle and

TJ:

then jumps to whatever website you're going to, all that traffic is encrypted.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

So that's a huge, especially when you.

TJ:

Like on public wifi mm-hmm so if you're in a hotel or a coffee shop

TJ:

mm-hmm or anything like that if you're just browsing the internet,

TJ:

you know, you're probably fine.

TJ:

But if you're checking your bank accounts, if you're doing any type

TJ:

of anything with sensitive data I think of VPN is an absolute.

TJ:

I have, I have one on my phone.

TJ:

I have 'em on my computer.

TJ:

And then just for the fun side of a VPN, is it allows you to kind of

TJ:

circumvent some geolocation things.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

So basically let's say, all right, here's a great example.

TJ:

I wanted to watch the Yankee game a couple days ago.

TJ:

We're.

TJ:

I'm in New York, we're blacked out.

TJ:

So I connected to a VPN in the west coast out in California.

TJ:

So now I think my computer is in California.

TJ:

That is not in network.

TJ:

Yankee game came on.

TJ:

I got to watch the Yankee game on MLB TV.

TJ:

And I was excited cuz I don't have yes.

TJ:

Network so I got to watch the game, just sitting at my computer.

TJ:

And, and that was kind of cool.

TJ:

So just kind of being able to circumvent some of that stuff.

TJ:

Also, if you're like in another country, let's say mm-hmm and you

TJ:

are, they block certain websites.

TJ:

You can connect to a us server and boom, all those websites are now open mm-hmm

Amy:

mm-hmm yeah.

Amy:

Some of our military clients have that issue.

Amy:

Right.

Amy:

They have problems with certain.

Amy:

Access to certain websites, especially financial websites.

Amy:

I mean, I get why they're the financial websites have the access block.

Amy:

But that, that is how they've gotten around.

Amy:

It is to connect to a VPN that is us based.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

And then again, because it's encrypted end to end, that is a pretty safe connection.

TJ:

So you, you're gonna be in a pretty safe spot.

TJ:

As far as all that goes, I definitely highly, highly recommend them.

Amy:

And do you recommend that it always be on or only on like, networks that

Amy:

you know, like are, so if you're at home, do you recommend that the VPN on

Amy:

be beyond at home or do you recommend that it only be on like when you're on?

TJ:

I mean if you're, if you have your router configured correctly?

TJ:

No, I, I don't have my VPN on at home hardly at all, unless I need.

TJ:

For whatever reason.

TJ:

But most people don't know how

Amy:

to configure the router though, do they?

TJ:

Correct?

TJ:

Well, most, a lot of people will just use the router that the ISP gives them.

TJ:

Mm-hmm and that might not be the safest option.

TJ:

It's also not a great router, just to be honest mm-hmm but if, if you

TJ:

have a router, your own router, you can set your own security things.

TJ:

You can set your own passwords.

TJ:

You can make sure your wifi is secure.

TJ:

You can secure your network.

TJ:

You can even create a guest network.

TJ:

So if you have people that come to your home, right, and wanna get on

TJ:

the wifi, you can give them access to the internet without giving

TJ:

access to your whole network.

TJ:

It just having a router I think is, is, you know, security 1 0 1 for your home.

TJ:

But.

TJ:

I think for the most part, you don't really need a VPN at home.

TJ:

I would say it can potentially slow down your internet only because you can only

TJ:

go as fast as the, as the VPN can go.

TJ:

So say you have a one gig connection, but the VPN only

TJ:

has a hundred megabytes Uhhuh.

TJ:

You're only going a hundred megabytes.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

You're gonna max out at the speed of the VPN,

Amy:

so it can affect performance basically is what I'm saying.

Amy:

Yeah,

TJ:

potentially.

TJ:

Now if you're on your phone and.

TJ:

I usually have my on at work because I connect to the, the store's public

TJ:

wifi mm-hmm so I turn my VP on, especially if I'm going to be accessing

TJ:

anything mm-hmm while I'm there.

TJ:

Mm-hmm So my VPN will, will be on, on my phone while I'm working.

TJ:

Mm-hmm and then to turn it off later as the day goes on.

Amy:

And so like for most people, where would they find a VPN?

TJ:

I mean, just a simple search is gonna give you and I could put

TJ:

a link in the, in the show notes.

TJ:

I just pulled a one up real quick.

TJ:

It's from security.org.

TJ:

It has the top, their top 10.

TJ:

I've used three of these in the past and okay.

TJ:

I've tried all three.

TJ:

I've gone back and forth to I per I, I don't wanna say I recommend, but

TJ:

I personally use private internet access Uhhuh but Nord, VPN.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

There's you know, ads out there all the time.

TJ:

They're they're the number one, one.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

Great, great service.

TJ:

I've used expressive VPN.

TJ:

And I've used private internet access.

TJ:

And actually my antivirus suite has a VPN built in as well.

TJ:

If I wanted to use theirs for an additional cost, I

Amy:

think like Avast has a VPN now, too.

Amy:

Mm-hmm if you use them, I think they have a VPN.

Amy:

So I, I think there's there are a variety of different options that are out

TJ:

there for sure.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I like, I like private internet access because they have a great

TJ:

price on long term subscriptions.

TJ:

Like I think a three year is like a three year subscription's

TJ:

like $90, so it's $30 a year.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Where if you go monthly, if you pay monthly month to month, it's $12

Amy:

a month.

Amy:

So I mean, 30 bucks a year, that's not bad.

Amy:

I think Nord is maybe around the same price.

TJ:

It's just a touch higher, but yeah.

TJ:

Great.

TJ:

You know, and again, another great service

Amy:

and, and, and having that on your phone, does that

Amy:

encrypt text messages too?

TJ:

No, like, okay.

TJ:

Not necessarily encrypted text messages are gonna be kind of something

TJ:

different messenger for Android.

TJ:

The, the default messenger for my phone anyway, can have it on as long

TJ:

as the other user has it on as well.

TJ:

So like certain there's a little lock that comes next to the text that comes on.

TJ:

And that tells me that that's encrypted.

TJ:

If you're basically at least three Android, if you're going through.

TJ:

Standard SMS.

TJ:

Those are not encrypted messages.

TJ:

If you're going through their internal things.

TJ:

So like me, the wife and the kids I'll use the same messaging app.

TJ:

So all of our texts are encrypted.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Among each other.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

But if I'm texting someone like on an iPhone, mm-hmm they

TJ:

don't like to play together.

TJ:

So if I was texting you, you have an iPhone, right.

TJ:

Our texts won't necessarily be encrypted.

TJ:

We're just standing, sending standard SMS texts at that point.

TJ:

So

Amy:

when you're sending that kind of informa, so let's just talk, sorry, I

Amy:

didn't mean to interrupt you, but one year it just kind of came into my mind.

Amy:

Like sometimes people will send some pretty confidential information

Amy:

over email and or text, and I think there's a false belief.

Amy:

I mean, I, I think I hope that people know not to send things

Amy:

over email just in general.

Amy:

It's.

Amy:

Published enough that emails can get hacked.

Amy:

Especially if people's passwords aren't super strong or if they don't have

Amy:

like multifactor authentication or Google authentication or something,

Amy:

but also text messages can get hacked.

Amy:

Right?

Amy:

I mean, it's something that happens and it's, it's not a good idea

Amy:

to send too much confidential information that way either.

Amy:

Is it?

TJ:

Oh no, I wouldn't send too awful much over text ever.

TJ:

They just, they can just pull that out of the air, basically.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

A, a sophisticated enough hacker, if they want your information

TJ:

are gonna be able to pull it and

Amy:

but don't make it easier for 'em.

Amy:

Yeah, don't make it easy.

Amy:

Right.

Amy:

There's so many, I mean there, what do they spend?

Amy:

Like an average it's not very long.

Amy:

Like somebody will try an average of so many minutes, like to get in.

Amy:

And if, if it's too hard, they'll just move on to the next person.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

Cause it's still they're for

TJ:

somebody else.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

They're gonna take the easiest target.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Just protect yourself by, you know, why waste their time trying to get a

TJ:

hard target mm-hmm if they can just move on to the easy target next door.

TJ:

So just having some sort.

TJ:

Basic security.

TJ:

And then of course just being mindful of what information you're putting out there.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I mean, even if you're mindful, like, like me.

TJ:

I I've been pretty good and my information's out

TJ:

there, you know that yeah.

TJ:

We've had to deal with it.

TJ:

And you know, my, all my credits locked down.

TJ:

I mean, I have still have a great credit score, but that's because you helped me.

TJ:

get my get my, my my credit reports locked down and frozen up so that

TJ:

nobody could open accounts for me.

Amy:

And some fraudulent activity happened that required.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

So

TJ:

so I mean, that's, that's a.

TJ:

That was huge.

TJ:

Just being mindful and being, and monitoring what's happening.

TJ:

You know, because I monitored it, I knew second something happened.

TJ:

And was able to head it off before anything major happened.

TJ:

Fortunately,

Amy:

it was just five o'clock in the morning that it happened.

Amy:

Right, right.

Amy:

yeah.

TJ:

The emails always seem to come in in the middle of the night.

TJ:

They get the longest they get the longest time for, for stuff

TJ:

to go wrong at that point.

TJ:

And you know, if you're sleeping, they get two, three hours

TJ:

before you see the email right.

TJ:

A lot can happen.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

So if you can catch it.

TJ:

You're good to go.

Amy:

It's one of the reasons that I always tell people don't ever put your

Amy:

banking information, like when they offer to use like debit or ACH information,

Amy:

I'm always, you know, I'm not, I'm somebody who believes very strongly,

Amy:

like use your credit cards, responsibly pay 'em off at the end of every month.

Amy:

Right.

Amy:

But this is one of the reasons why I believe that credit cards are better.

Amy:

If something is tied to your checking or savings account.

Amy:

Yes, you can get it back.

Amy:

But when it happens on a weekend, it takes until the next business day for

Amy:

something to actually get corrected.

Amy:

And if it happens on a Friday night, you're stuck with it until

Amy:

Monday morning, where if it's on a credit card, you can actually just

Amy:

call the credit card companies.

Amy:

Most of 'em have 24 7 service.

Amy:

Tell them that there was fraudulent activity.

Amy:

They're very happy to take those kinds of reports.

Amy:

Cuz normally if you can get it within 24 hours, they can actually stop the

Amy:

charge and save themselves money.

Amy:

So it's, that's one of the reasons what I tell people, never to put their

Amy:

checking or debit card information out online because I know in some cases

Amy:

there's an additional service fee.

Amy:

If you don't do it debit or ACH.

Amy:

But for me, that's like an insurance policy.

Amy:

I just look at it from that perspective and say, Yeah, I might have to pay 3%

Amy:

more, but I also don't have to worry about my my waking up one morning and having my

Amy:

checking account wiped out and, you know, bouncing checks or having to deal with

Amy:

something like that at the banking level.

Amy:

So for me, it's kind of added, or I might not work with that, you know, I might

Amy:

just say, well, there's other providers out there that don't charge me that fee.

Amy:

It's just part of doing business.

Amy:

So I think that's important.

Amy:

And, and also just thinking about.

Amy:

I mean, we're kind of talking about how to protect ourselves.

Amy:

One of the things that I often talk to people about is just like know, or be

Amy:

aware of like the antivirus or malware software that or blockers, I guess

Amy:

you wanna say that are on your system and, and keep those up to date, right.

Amy:

Or, or make sure you, your operating system is up to date

Amy:

or software is up to date.

Amy:

Is there.

Amy:

Is there a process and, and if, if you don't know how to do this, I would

Amy:

say take, you know, like go YouTube.

Amy:

It there's tons of stuff out there that you can watch on YouTube videos

Amy:

to learn how to make sure that your operating system is updated.

Amy:

Your software is updated and that your antivirus program is running.

Amy:

Do you have any recommendations on like antivirus or malware protection software?

Amy:

Is it like whatever comes with the computer or would you add on to that?

TJ:

I mean, you have to weigh performance to protection, I suppose.

TJ:

And I try to find a balance.

TJ:

So there are certainly antivirus software suites that are super

TJ:

comprehensive will keep your computer really safe at a cost of performance.

TJ:

Mm-hmm you'll, you'll lose some performance on your computer.

TJ:

So if you're video editor or a gamer or something like that, you may not want

TJ:

to get something super system intensive.

TJ:

But there are plenty of options out there for years and years and

TJ:

years, I went completely free route.

TJ:

And I have just used the windows defender that was on the computer

TJ:

alongside of malware bites and a couple other tools that I used

TJ:

to keep the, my computer clean.

TJ:

Mm-hmm had very, very, very few issues with with viruses over the

TJ:

years, you know, I should knock on some wood and it's been, it's worked

TJ:

out fine for me, but that's again, like I have safe browsing habits.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

You know so, you know, I don't take those risky clicks.

TJ:

And then nice thing about, I just, you know, other than the last year

TJ:

started paying for my internet service or my my antivirus suite

TJ:

and I just got a one called bit.

TJ:

And mail where bys did this as well, but it actually will block bad websites.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

If you click on something, you get a big thing that pops up on the

TJ:

screen and says, Hey, this is not a site you should be going to mm-hmm

TJ:

do you want to go there anyway?

TJ:

Mm-hmm and you say yes or no, at that point you've been warned

TJ:

mm-hmm or you can click the link that says, take me back to safety.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And you go back and you're back on the previous page and.

TJ:

You're good to go.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

And the reason I chose bit defenders, because it has a lower system impact

TJ:

mm-hmm it's a solid, solid, it was.

TJ:

I did my research again, tried to weigh my benefits and things like that.

TJ:

Now where bites is another great program.

TJ:

Mm-hmm, , I've used it for years.

TJ:

A lot of friends, you know, I'm kind of the unspoken it guy at, at work.

TJ:

It guy without the, without the credentials, I suppose.

TJ:

And I'm clean.

TJ:

I clean computers up for people so, you know, they, they give me their

TJ:

computer and it's got some virus on it and, and it's, you know,

TJ:

I'm trying to fix it for 'em.

TJ:

Mail lights has been huge for me over those years.

TJ:

There's other tools, but, and that's, that's

Amy:

something that's pretty, it's pretty challenge.

Amy:

Cause sometimes those viruses are, you know, they have like

Amy:

tentacles that get into all sources of cleaning them is a challenge.

Amy:

When you have that situation, it's not, it's not for the faint part.

Amy:

I would say.

TJ:

Yeah, most of the time with those it's just a system wipe.

TJ:

You gotta start over mm-hmm but unfortunately, you know, I have been

TJ:

able to save some systems with just.

TJ:

Stuff, and then you set them up for success in the future and hope that things

TJ:

work out at, for them at that point.

TJ:

So again, it's all gonna fall back on safe browsing habits.

TJ:

Mm-hmm mm-hmm if, if you're, if you're going to shady website,

TJ:

shady things are gonna happen.

TJ:

Yeah,

Amy:

yeah.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

So that's things to be, be cautious of.

Amy:

How about like passwords, do you believe in like password managers or anything like

TJ:

that?

TJ:

Hundred percent.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I I'd like you use last pass mm-hmm but there are plenty of others

TJ:

out there that do similar things.

Amy:

One password is another one,

TJ:

one password that's another, and all the, a lot of the

TJ:

antivirus suites out there have the password manager built in as well.

TJ:

Highly, highly re.

TJ:

A password manager, because it'll do a couple things.

TJ:

One, it is that it will check at least last pass.

TJ:

Does it will check to see if you're reusing passwords

TJ:

mm-hmm across multiple sites,

Amy:

gives you a score.

Amy:

It'll tell you what your score

TJ:

is.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

And, and and you can work on changing different passwords for every site.

TJ:

And as long as you don't forget your last pass password, , that's pretty critical.

TJ:

You.

TJ:

Can have very strong passwords on every website mm-hmm and

TJ:

they can all be different.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And there's apps for your, for your browser.

TJ:

There's a browser extension that will just fill 'em in for you

TJ:

there's apps for your phone.

TJ:

Mm-hmm that will fill 'em in for you.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

They, they require you to reauthenticate every once in a while.

Amy:

And the other thing is that with at least with last pass, I know that you

Amy:

can actually have like a backup person, so you can actually name somebody.

Amy:

A backup to have access to your last pass account in the event that you

Amy:

were disabled or disabled or passed away or something like that, then

Amy:

somebody would have access to all of those accounts that are online.

Amy:

Right.

Amy:

So everybody seems to bank online, have investment accounts online,

Amy:

nobody's getting statements anymore, or a fair number of people.

Amy:

Aren't.

Amy:

So you know, I would guess that it's that's a safety

TJ:

mechanism.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah, for sure.

TJ:

And you know, like with banking, all the banking sites, my banking

TJ:

passwords are, you know, ridiculous.

TJ:

They , I do Heather needed to log into the bank account last night on her phone.

TJ:

And , I had to pull up last pass to and show her the passwords

TJ:

so she could type it in.

TJ:

So like, And she's like, what is that?

TJ:

And I was like, that is a real password.

Amy:

the, the other thing too, with regards to passwords and, and password

Amy:

managers that I wanna point out is that doesn't mean like your Chrome or your

Amy:

brow, like your actual internet browser should be used as your password manager.

Amy:

I'm not a big fan of that.

Amy:

I would rather have a separate, do you agree with that?

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Yes.

TJ:

Hundred.

Amy:

How about those pesky fun phone calls you get that Microsoft is

Amy:

claiming to connect to your computer that you they've noticed a virus.

Amy:

That's been something that I think more and more people are aware is you

Amy:

know, fraudulent, but is there any time anybody would actually call you

Amy:

and say that they need to connect?

Amy:

They noticed virus activity and they need to connect to your computer?

TJ:

No, never.

TJ:

Long and short,

Amy:

long, and short, what if never happen?

Amy:

And if you, if somebody does do that, just hang up, like just

Amy:

don't even, or you can mess one.

Amy:

That's what I do.

Amy:

but how about we talked a little bit before about the I

Amy:

S P and the router security.

Amy:

Even if you do have one that a organization has given you like your let's

Amy:

say spectrum gives you the router, right?

Amy:

H you should.

Amy:

I've always told people you should change that router password and

Amy:

make sure that the wifi password is also something that you can change.

Amy:

Like the number of people that just go with the default, I'm

Amy:

always saying change your default.

Amy:

The thing is, is more important actually to change.

Amy:

I, I think if you're only gonna change one, it's probably more important

Amy:

to change the router default, isn't

TJ:

it?

TJ:

Oh yeah.

TJ:

Yeah, because I mean, let's say.

TJ:

Here.

TJ:

Here's a great example.

TJ:

I have a net gear router, and all you would have to do is type

TJ:

into Google net gear, router, default password, and you have it.

TJ:

Hmm.

TJ:

It's there.

TJ:

So no matter what, if I don't change it, that is searchable.

TJ:

That's a searchable FA password because when you factory reset, Net gear or

TJ:

Alysis or any of the other brands.

TJ:

They default back to whatever the default password is.

TJ:

Mm-hmm, , that's in their documentation.

TJ:

That's there from day one.

TJ:

So like, if I'm helping someone at their house, let's say set up

TJ:

their, their network and they forgot their password to their router.

TJ:

All I do is factory reset it.

TJ:

And then I Google their password.

TJ:

And then start over.

TJ:

That's, it's so simple.

TJ:

It's, it's such a easy hack.

TJ:

You don't even need to be a hacker.

TJ:

You just need to know how to type yeah.

TJ:

In order to get that password.

TJ:

So absolutely 100% have to change that password day one,

TJ:

as soon as you're setting it up.

TJ:

Never need the default.

Amy:

What if somebody, you know, like, let's say the company sets it up and you

Amy:

tell them that you need access to change the, the router password and they don't

Amy:

let you, is there a way to circumvent that

TJ:

like, like a spectrum?

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I don't, I don't know.

TJ:

I know my, my internet provider let me change everything.

TJ:

From day one, I, I don't have spectrum.

TJ:

I'm not a hundred percent sure how those work.

TJ:

They may have a, a like a random string so that they have access to it.

TJ:

If it's like a random number, that's not the same as everyone else's I don't

TJ:

have a problem with the ISPs password to the router itself, but there is

TJ:

never gonna be a situation where they, you can't change the wifi password.

TJ:

So pushback basically.

TJ:

Well, no, I'm just saying like for router security in general,

TJ:

like, like logging into the router to make system setting changes.

TJ:

If that's a mm-hmm , if that's a random string of letters and numbers and

TJ:

characters, it's probably relatively safe.

TJ:

What I'm talking about is like the actual wifi password.

TJ:

Oh, the wifi.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

That one will always be changeable.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And that one should be changed.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

From, from day one to something that you want it to be.

Amy:

And I also believe in, in if at all possible, I, I run like my internet of

Amy:

things on a whole different like guest network mm-hmm than I do anything else.

Amy:

Just for, again, for added level of security.

Amy:

And also we've looked at a system called perimeter 30.

Amy:

Let's see, is it perimeter 81 or perimeter?

Amy:

I have to look and see what it is now.

Amy:

Perimeter.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

Perimeter 81.

Amy:

I think is the name of it.

Amy:

Let me like, let me make sure it's funny.

Amy:

I have the system and I can't think of the name of it.

Amy:

It is basically something that you can put around.

Amy:

Like it, it protects It protects your like work system a little bit, just to,

Amy:

just to add a little an additional level of perimeter, 81 level of security to

Amy:

cuz you put it on the machine itself.

Amy:

So it, it, it basically serves as a VPN, but it's a stronger, it's

Amy:

an even stronger VPN if you're on like all one wifi, basically.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

Yeah.

TJ:

Oh, go ahead.

TJ:

Looks pretty good.

TJ:

Yeah, I'm looking at it too.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I've never heard of this before, but given.

TJ:

You're in a different world than I am, as far as, you know,

TJ:

you have to deal with the FCC,

Amy:

right?

Amy:

The FCC.

Amy:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Amy:

And

TJ:

and all sorts of other different organizations that I don't as

TJ:

So.

TJ:

But yeah, just to look overview really quick.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

That looks pretty solid or something like

Amy:

that.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

And because we are working from home, occasionally, we really do need to

Amy:

have our computers on a separate sort of protective system to make sure that

Amy:

there isn't anything that does get in through, you know through other

Amy:

other systems that we have running on our, on our internet connections.

Amy:

The other thing that I guess I wanted to just kind of wrap up on is is kind

Amy:

of the web secure, the browser security.

Amy:

You said, you know, avoid risky websites.

Amy:

And if you do risk, if you go to risky websites, you're gonna

Amy:

result in a risky situation.

Amy:

what are some of the ways that beyond like avoiding those risky websites?

Amy:

What are some of the things that you can do that would reduce

Amy:

or increase browser security?

Amy:

I should say.

TJ:

So one of the main ways like malware or spyware gets into

TJ:

your computer is through ads.

TJ:

They're, they're being served to you through ad servers.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

And, and cookies and different things like that.

TJ:

So, Know, at least for your PC at home, it's a little harder on your Android

TJ:

devices or your iPhone devices, but at least for your, your computer at home,

TJ:

I, I love using an ad block or extension.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

I personally use U block origin.

TJ:

I like that.

TJ:

It's open source.

TJ:

The owner of it says he'll never take money.

TJ:

He will take money to whitelist websites mm-hmm or ad servers.

TJ:

So, and it's all open source.

TJ:

So if you find a ad server out there and you wanna add it to their,

TJ:

to their list, it can be added.

TJ:

What that does is, you know, you know, turn that thing on and, and run Facebook.

TJ:

And mm-hmm you have a whole different appreciation of what

TJ:

your Facebook experience is.

TJ:

Mm-hmm all the ads go away.

TJ:

I actually just uh, kind of preparing for this podcast.

TJ:

I looked at it yesterday and you know, I scrolled down Facebook for about,

TJ:

you know, two minutes and I looked up and you block had blocked 80 ads.

Amy:

Wow.

Amy:

In just

TJ:

two minutes.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

And actually the site I'm looking at right now on the U block origin.

TJ:

Online tech tips thing that I was looking at just to kind of have

TJ:

some information in front of me.

TJ:

Mm-hmm, , it's blocking seven ads on this website alone.

TJ:

Wow.

TJ:

You know, it's, it just blocks things out and kind of cleans

TJ:

up your browsing experience.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And it, it can all, you know, transparency, it can mess with some.

TJ:

As far as certain websites, like don't like to load or you'll get a banner across

TJ:

the top that says ads pay the bills.

TJ:

Mm-hmm , mm-hmm, , you know things like that.

TJ:

But, and they're not wrong, but you know, when, when websites are

TJ:

free there's some reason for that.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

You're you're the product.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

They, they want your information to sell it.

TJ:

So there there's that, there's another extension I use It's called I, I got

TJ:

it right from my antivirus thing.

TJ:

It's, it's called bit defender anti tracker.

TJ:

It was built into my my bit defender antivirus suite.

TJ:

And it's just a, just a, an extension that goes into edge or Chrome or

TJ:

fire Fox mm-hmm that takes off some of those tracking things.

TJ:

So those tracking sites, so, you know how you're.

TJ:

It is just uncanny.

TJ:

You're talking about you know you know, oh, I really need to

TJ:

buy a new car, blah, blah, blah.

TJ:

And you're talking about it with your friends and next thing you know, you open

TJ:

up Facebook and you're scrolling down and there's an ad for, you know, 20, 22 Fords.

TJ:

And you're like, huh?

TJ:

You know, little things like that, the mm-hmm mm-hmm you

TJ:

gotta, you got a little microphone in your pocket at all times.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

And they say they're not listening, but they are,

Amy:

but, well, I mean, how many times does that happen?

Amy:

That you

TJ:

know, that it's not it's it's it's uncanny.

TJ:

So just, you know, having some things set up to try to curb some of that.

TJ:

Um, Yeah.

TJ:

Is nice with Android, especially the newer versions of Android that you

TJ:

can turn off micro microphone access to any individual app that you want.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

So I, I generally turn it off on Facebook so that, unless I'm using like

TJ:

messenger to talk to somebody mm-hmm but you can turn it on to, you know, ask.

TJ:

So that way, if like, Hey Eric, so like you go in the messenger and

TJ:

you click that thing and it says, you'll get a pop up least on Android.

TJ:

You get a pop up that says, you know, Facebook's trying

TJ:

to access your microphone.

TJ:

Are you gonna allow it?

TJ:

You can click the, and this is only this time.

TJ:

Mm-hmm now you have now access to your mic

Amy:

because of the conversation.

Amy:

I mean, cuz you're trying to have that conversation.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

Cause

TJ:

you're, you're talking, you're actually using it to talk to somebody.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And I think

Amy:

that's really important for people to understand that those are some of

Amy:

the like little things that can be done.

Amy:

Right?

Amy:

I mean, those are they're, they're not super expensive.

Amy:

They're just little tiny things that they can implement to protect their lives.

Amy:

And I think the other thing that a lot of people need to, to do, I

Amy:

guess maybe one of the final things.

Amy:

I talked about not saving your passwords and your web browser

Amy:

itself, but also not saving your payment methods and your browser.

Amy:

Cause if your browser ever gets hacked, you've not only got all your passwords.

Amy:

Now you've got your payment method in there.

Amy:

It's not safe to.

Amy:

So whenever that pops up on your, you know, Mon, do you

Amy:

wanna save this password?

Amy:

Unless it's a system like a password manager or something like that?

Amy:

I would highly encourage people to say no, but this is where people are gonna ask.

Amy:

Well, what about.

Amy:

You know, the apple I pay or Google pay.

Amy:

Is it safe to have payment methods in those particular apps so that

Amy:

when you're trying to pay for it, like you order something and you're

Amy:

using your phone to do it, it, I pay always pops up as a payment option.

Amy:

Is it, is that safe?

Amy:

Do you feel that's safe?

TJ:

Honestly, I feel that's safer than swiping your card.

TJ:

Why do you feel that way?

TJ:

Because.

TJ:

Now you're okay.

TJ:

So your information is now on Google's.

TJ:

Google becomes your bank or your middleman mm-hmm mm-hmm so each time

TJ:

I, cause I use Google pay all the time.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

And now I use mostly use it at Wegmans, which means, you know, I

TJ:

don't worry about Wegmans at all.

TJ:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

TJ:

Of course.

TJ:

Right.

TJ:

It because they're not getting Wegmans.

TJ:

Isn't getting my banking information when I put my phone up to that reader.

TJ:

Google's handling that.

TJ:

So everything's kind of going through that middleman mm-hmm so even if say

TJ:

somebody got that unique key from when I stuck my phone up there, it's like

TJ:

having the chip in your phone, in your.

TJ:

On your card.

TJ:

Every transaction has its own unique identifier.

TJ:

So even if someone got that information, they can never use it.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

It's it's unusable it's.

TJ:

It's like PayPal, like a lot of people.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Get worried about PayPal, but I, I love it.

TJ:

It does not.

TJ:

So if I'm buying something from eBay or Amazon through third party,

TJ:

if I pay them with PayPal, do it.

TJ:

If I get ripped off, they don't send me whatever it is.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Maybe I've lost the money on that item, but they don't

TJ:

have my banking information.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

They only have that PayPal key that PayPal sent.

TJ:

Or that Google payment sent them that they can never use again.

TJ:

So yeah, if they ripped me off for a hundred dollars for the item I bought,

TJ:

maybe mm-hmm and I can take that up with eBay, or I can take that up with Amazon

TJ:

mm-hmm or I can take that up with, you know, whoever, but they don't have it.

TJ:

They didn't, they didn't get my credit card information.

TJ:

Mm-hmm mm-hmm on top of it.

TJ:

Mm-hmm so, yeah.

TJ:

You know, there's a lot of, you know, skepticism, especially

TJ:

with like Google pay and I pay.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

But I actually feel.

TJ:

Very safe.

TJ:

Okay.

TJ:

Just as safe as that chip, you know, that chip is, has been

TJ:

of a nice addition to cards.

TJ:

Yeah.

Amy:

Yeah.

Amy:

Credit card companies have loved it.

Amy:

it saved them some headache

TJ:

too.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Because each, each transaction has its own token and that token, that

TJ:

number, that special encryption number is, is a one time use only.

TJ:

And that's it.

TJ:

And it can never be used again.

TJ:

So I'm, I'm a huge fan of it.

TJ:

I, I recommend.

TJ:

But again, like with a phone, if you're using it, you know, you have

TJ:

to have a password on your phone.

TJ:

Actually, it won't even work without it.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

I'm you literally, you like, if you try to set it up without a password

TJ:

on your phone, it will not set up.

TJ:

It'll say, no, we're not gonna let you because your phone can be unlocked just,

Amy:

well, it's interesting.

Amy:

I mean, I have not only like, do I have a password on my phone with my thumb, you

Amy:

know, my thumb print, but I also have.

Amy:

Not a four, six digit code.

Amy:

I have a full password on my phone and the reason that I do that.

Amy:

Simply because, you know, my that's my traveling device.

Amy:

That's my D like I, you know, I wanna make sure that phone is super secure.

Amy:

Should I ever lose it?

Amy:

I wanna make sure nobody else has access to get into that phone.

Amy:

So I've gone with a passcode instead of, I think it's like 11 or 12 to

Amy:

think how many digits it is, but it's a combination of word of letters,

Amy:

upper lowercase numbers and symbols.

Amy:

Nobody else is gonna guess that password ever because it's a pass

Amy:

phase that only I would come up with.

Amy:

So, I mean, I, I encourage people to do that as well and not like

Amy:

draw the lines kind of thing.

Amy:

I mean, I, I would really, it's either thumbprint FA you know,

Amy:

the facial recognition and back it up with that, you know, stronger

Amy:

password in case you ever lose it.

Amy:

There's just so much information that's on our phones anymore.

Amy:

That it's too.

Amy:

It it's really.

Amy:

To have it, that extra level of security I think is super important.

Amy:

And again, if you wanna know how to do those kinds of things, and you don't

Amy:

know YouTube is your friend, like, you can find any of this stuff out there.

Amy:

Or stop into like your Verizon store or your at and T store

Amy:

or something like that.

Amy:

And most of them can show you how to, how to implement some of those things as well.

Amy:

Anything else that you would suggest that people do that we haven't

Amy:

kind of high level gone through?

Amy:

I mean, we could talk about this all day long, but is there anything

Amy:

that, you know, you wanna, like, if there's one thing that you do

Amy:

to protect your identity, to make it just a little bit harder, so.

Amy:

You know, you won't be the prime target.

Amy:

Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you would suggest?

TJ:

No, I don't think there's anything I wouldn't haven't talked about,

TJ:

but is if there's one thing that you could do to protect yourself,

TJ:

it's passwords passwords, and then on top of that passwords second,

TJ:

second factor authentication.

TJ:

Yeah, like have a strong password for whatever.

TJ:

Back to PayPal.

TJ:

It's a great example.

TJ:

It's annoying.

TJ:

But every time I log in, I have to put my password in and I get

TJ:

in a second factor authentication.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Sent yeah.

TJ:

Every time, you know?

Amy:

Well, I I'll take annoying over, over being yes.

TJ:

A hundred percent because if someone hacks my PayPal account,

TJ:

what do they have access to?

TJ:

They have access to my entire bank account.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

That I have connected to.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And multiple bank accounts, I have two bank accounts are connected

TJ:

to that plus a credit card.

TJ:

So yeah.

TJ:

They have access to a lot of my financial stuff and what can they do with PayPal?

TJ:

They can just send cash.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

And they can just move money yeah.

TJ:

Around.

TJ:

So having that, having that second thing.

TJ:

So, you know, if I ever get a PayPal code mm-hmm when I haven't logged into PayPal.

TJ:

It's time to change my password.

TJ:

Right.

TJ:

Because now I know that my, my password has been stolen.

TJ:

Right.

TJ:

That's the nice part about second factor authentication.

TJ:

It, it puts a lock up, right?

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

It locks everything down.

TJ:

And the second you get that notification that you, when you

TJ:

didn't request it, mm-hmm, , you know, that your password's compromised.

TJ:

It's time to change that password.

TJ:

And move on because even with, you know, Strong passwords if a company slips.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

And they send that, you know, and they get hacked, but they, for whatever reason,

TJ:

didn't have encrypted their password list, encrypted, which has happened.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Now your username and passwords out there, right on, on the dark web somewhere.

TJ:

And someone's just gonna type it.

TJ:

Yep.

TJ:

So having that second factor authentication on top of that, if

TJ:

that's an option for any of your sites, I definitely recommend that.

TJ:

That's where I think that would be the only, I guess we didn't

TJ:

really talk about second factor too much on top of a password.

TJ:

Second factor's huge.

TJ:

And

Amy:

second factor can be text message or it could also be a like

Amy:

Google authenticator or there's

TJ:

last pass has one built in last

Amy:

pass.

Amy:

Yep.

Amy:

All of those places have

TJ:

even an email.

TJ:

Yeah.

TJ:

Even an email can

Amy:

sent just something, right?

Amy:

Yep.

Amy:

Well, TJ, thank you so much for taking the time to talk.

Amy:

I think this is such an important topic for people to learn about

Amy:

and to, to hear more about and, and really get an understanding of what

Amy:

how they can protect themselves.

Amy:

And, and I think it's been a bigger issue lately, just because More and

Amy:

more people are, are hearing about it.

Amy:

And, and for good reason have concerns that, you know, they should,

Amy:

should be protecting themselves.

Amy:

So I appreciate you taking the time and, and we hope you

Amy:

all have enjoyed this podcast.

Amy:

Please feel free to share this with your friends and family, make sure

Amy:

that you rate us out on iTunes.

Amy:

That always promotes us up into the.

Amy:

The ranking.

Amy:

So more people can listen to us.

Amy:

We also are available on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Amy:

So again, make sure you share it with your friends.

Amy:

We want them to know all this information too.

Amy:

We hope you all have enjoyed.

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About the Podcast

Money Roots
Money Roots with Amy Irvine
Welcome to "Money Roots," the podcast where personal finance becomes personal. Join host Amy Irvine, CEO of Rooted Planning Group, as she demystifies the world of finance and makes it approachable for everyone, from beginners to financial experts.

In each episode, Amy and her guests dig deep into the financial soil, planting the seeds of financial knowledge and helping you nurture your financial future. Whether you're looking to build a solid budget, invest wisely, or plan for retirement, "Money Roots" has you covered.

Get ready to explore practical advice, inspiring stories, and expert insights that will empower you to take control of your financial destiny. It's time to grow your money roots and thrive financially!

Subscribe to "Money Roots" now and join Amy on this exciting journey to financial empowerment. Let's put down some roots and flourish together.

About your host

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Amy Irvine

Uncorking Amy Irvine!!

If any of you have ever met Amy, you know she is passionate about
three things. Family, Finances, and WINE! This comes through in all
that she does and all that she is. When asked to describe herself she first and foremost states, “I am a wife, a daughter, and hopefully a good friend, who happens to also be a financial planner.” Amy holds a Master’s Degree in financial planning and is a Certified Financial Planner TM , Enrolled Agent, Certified College Financial Consultant, and a Financial Wellness Coach with over 25 years of financial planning and industry experience. She is the Founder and owner of Rooted Planning Group, (Formerly known as Irvine Wealth Planning Strategies LLC), which started in 2016 and has grown to include 6 other planners and 2 part-time staff members. Amy is definitely “doing it her way” and has been recognized by her financial planning colleagues as being a “disrupter,” a title she holds close to her heart and is proud of.

Uniquely, at the age of 44, she decided to not only start her only company, but to act on what she defined as her perfect life and she splits her time between Parrish, Florida and Jasper, New York.
On her website it states, “I love what I do, but I also very much enjoy warmth, good
conversation, wine tastings, and volunteering. New York is extraordinary in the summer and fall, but so is Florida in the winter.”
In 2018, she decided it was time to take the stigma out of finances by combining her passion for finances and wine. She started a podcast called “Wine and Dime,” which highlights a different wine and financial topic each week, and she released her book combining those same two passions, titled, “Uncork Your Finances.”
Many of you may know her as one of the co-founders of the Southern Tier Women’s Financial Conference – a day of collaboration and financial education, which will be hosting it’s sixth year!
To round out her volunteering passion, she often provides financial education to the
community through the financial management program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Steuben County, she serves on the board of Faith-in-Action of Steuben County, volunteers for various Fund For Women of the Southern Tier events, works with the finance committee of the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, and serves on the board for the Corning Painted Post Historical Society (also known as Heritage Village).
In her downtime, you’re likely to find her with a glass of red wine from one of the many Keuka or Seneca Lake wineries that she highlights in her Wine and Dime Podcast.