Surfing the Internet is an everyday occurrence for a growing number of people these days, as technology expands and online services continue to grow. Many people go online for banking, shopping, checking e-mail, and catch up with the news. That's why it is more important than ever to protect your identity while surfing the web. As identity theft becomes more prevalent, we must all be more vigilant in the protection of personal data - before it gets into the wrong hands.
Every time you go online and perform some kind of transaction, whether monetary or exchange of information, you put your identity at risk. Unfortunately, criminals use the Internet, using technology to perpetrate identity theft. This type of cyber-criminals collect personal information online and either sold to others for profit, or used for the purpose of his / her account.
Fortunately, there are many things you can do to stay one step ahead of these "bandits" and maintain your identity as safe as possible. The Internet landscape is constantly changing, so you need to stay on top of things if you want to stay as safe as possible.
The first thing you do is learn how to avoid phishing scams. Phishers use fake emails and websites to pretend they are real companies, reliable and institutions such as banks and insurance companies. When people receive a spoof email or directed to a fake website, they are tricked into revealing passwords, credit card numbers and other information. Be careful: criminals are good at what they do, so be very careful when dealing with email messages from your bank or other organization. The key point to remember is that real institutions never ask you to verify personal information online - be cautious and contact the sender directly, by phone, to authenticate the request and, if necessary, all the information you really can require .
Because many phishers use spam email as a means to obtain your passwords and personal information, install a good spam filter to keep out as much as possible spam. If the voltage of most of the problems e-mails from the start, you will not have to worry about dealing with many suspicious messages on your own. Also, avoid sending any sensitive information via e-mail or instant messages. Scammers are known to intercept e-mails and instant messages. Use common sense when it comes to e-mail as well. For example, avoid opening email attachments or instant messenger deemed suspicious. Only open files on someone if you know the sender and what you are sending.
And NEVER send your social security number over the Internet. No one should be requested, but if you ask for it, confirming the request and send it directly to that person.
Another great way to prevent identity theft is the password that protects all computers, laptops and PDAs. For each item, get a user name and password. The same rule must follow when selecting passwords for any online activity. Why? If a password is discovered by a malicious person, and all your bank accounts, credit cards and other private logins use the same password, he / she may have access to everything. When choosing passwords, create letters, numbers, special characters and make absurd character string is not in the dictionary. These will be much harder to decipher a potential scammer.
Keep the amount of personal data on your computer to a minimum. In the event that your computer has been hacked or your laptop is stolen, you will be much less prone to identity theft because the thief is given much to work with. Another good idea is to install a personal firewall. Although systems like Windows already contain a program of basic firewall, creating another program that will ensure your computer is hidden from hackers, intruders to leave to get to sensitive information, and allow you to control Internet traffic .
Acquisition of antivirus software and keep it updated. A virus package high-quality protection can help prevent and eliminate viruses, Trojan horses and other dangerous items designed to steal your personal information. It will also analyze e-mail and instant messaging attachments for viruses.
In addition to antivirus software, be sure to equip your PC with the latest anti-spyware protection. Although much of the spyware programs out there just to monitor their online activities for marketing purposes, some have been created for malicious reasons, including the recording of keystrokes and, of course, identity theft.
One last tip: when you decide to upgrade your computer and pull or sell your old, remember to remove all data from hard disk. Many people mistakenly believe that simply deleting files makes them disappear - but this is not the case. When you delete files that are still present on your hard disk, and must be deleted before handing the machine to another person. Software known as eliminate programs or shredders can be used to overwrite the data with zeroes or random patterns making it totally unreadable.
It's worth the effort to take precautions to keep your personal information under lock and key. Trying to clean up the mess left by an identity thief can take years, and causes a headache or two. So take charge and protect your personal information, use common sense and some good technology tools to keep the cyber thieves at bay.
October 04, 2011, 10:16:48 AM