Safety Online – How to Protect Yourself.
Being online is a big part of people’s social lives these days. There are online games, social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, online dating sites and lots of other sites where people can meet and network. Unfortunately, being very visible online can put at risk for being assaulted. The number of cases where women are being assaulted and even killed by people that found them on the Internet is growing every year.
Some of the points below may sound a bit extreme and controversial. These are only guidelines to help protect yourself from various problems millions are faced with everyday on the web. Problems including things like Identity Theft, Online Bullying and other serious crimes are on the increase and will only get more difficult to control if We don’t take care to protect our personal information on the web.
Do you do enough to protect yourself when you’re online? Here are some ways that you can stay safe when you’re online.
Your Personal Computer:
· Use Antivirus and Anti spyware software. If someone sends you a worm on your computer they can log into your computer and see everything that you type as well as all your personal information like bank account and credit card information, address, social security number and more.
They can also get access to all your personal photos and documents. It’s easy to use anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Many of them are free. Spybot, one of the best, can be downloaded for free from several different websites. Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software updated and run it at least once a week.
· Use a firewall. Your computer already has one if it’s running a Windows operating system, all you have to do it turn it in.
· Use Cookie management services or Turn on Cookies notices in your web browser. Cookies are little bits of information code that are used by websites to keep track of various things including which sites you have browsed, your user Ids and passwords, email addresses and some personal details you have entered. Often this is useful when you don’t want to re-enter this information every time you visit a site but it can also be misused by what is called “data mining”.
Data mining is when a website uses your browsing information to track what kind of sites you visit, how much time you spend on their sites, what links you created or used. This might be used for marketing purposes or spamming. When you enable Cookie notices or use Cookie management services it will notify you when a cookie is created on you PC and you would have the option to continue or not. In most cases this information is used only on the specific site you are visiting but can also in some cases be shared without your consent with thousands of other sites and thus causing spamming or even worse.
· Make sure that your operating system and security software is configured to automatically update.
· If you use a wireless network at home or at work, make sure its setup with a network security password. Most service providers now setup their router / wireless equipment with SID’s (Security Identifiers). If you have an older version wireless modem and you can connect to your wireless network without having to use a password, find out if you can set it up with a password, if not, replace it with a newer type modem/router. This will prevent illegal usage of your network and avoid certain security breaches.
Surfing the Web:
· Develop an Internet persona. Never give out your identifying details online. Ever. Develop an Internet persona for the web, the same way an author would create a nom de plume. A false identity online can keep your real identity safe from stalkers, predators and identity thieves.
· Keep your profile private. When you use social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook make your profile and photos private so that only people you approve can see them. Even then you will get requests from strangers who want to add you as a friend. Don’t add anyone that you don’t know to your friends list and never give out any personal information like where you live online.
· Don’t put anything on the Internet you wouldn’t want your mother to see. Leave the revealing pictures or the pictures from your last drunken party to show your friends in person. Employers, predators, and anyone else who might be looking can find these things online if they know how to look, even if your profile is set to private. Be careful of how much you reveal about yourself online.
Online privacy is becoming more of an issue than ever before. Some employers for example are starting to use Social networks to spy on their employees or even to do an online reference check on possible employees as to what they are up to. We hear of bosses sacking employees due to something that might have inadvertently been posted on a social site. Be aware that in today’s highly evolved information based world, everybody is being watched by someone on the web, to some extent of course.
· When creating passwords, use 8 or more characters consisting of letters and numbers and symbols. Change these passwords regularly.
· When having to enter personal or sensitive information for example logging on to a banking site, make sure the site address begins with “https”, this means its a secure site.
Emailing:
· Use separate email addresses from your personal address, disposable addresses if you like, when having to receive newsletter, posting to forums or commenting on blogs. Thus when your email address all of a sudden becomes a target for spammers then its a lot easier to just delete this address, create a new one and continue without the hassle of having to inform all your friends and family that you are no longer available on a certain address. Use separate addresses for your web business, your personal mail and just everyday signups and correspondence.
· Do not open or click on any emails or attachments from people that you don’t know or if they look suspicious. Most email programs can be set with a Auto Preview Reading Pane, thus avoiding having to open the particular email.
There are signs that a mail might be dangerous. Things like, unknown senders, spelling errors in the title or body text, winning incredible competitions, grammatical errors etc. Rule of thumb, if you request the mail or know the person whom sent it, be careful.
These tips can help you keep safe online. Currently there is no real sure way to avoid the misuse of you information on the web and we do not profess that these points highlighted in this post is going to ultimately keep you safe, but by being aware of the dangerous areas and understanding the pitfalls of the online world could just avoid your future on the web and your life from being damaged or destroyed.
If You would like to discover more about how to protect yourself in every probable situation, read this lifesaving eBook, titled “A practical Guide to Self Defense for Women”. Topics covered including Online dating, ATM safety, Living alone, Parking lot safety and many more. BE PREPARED, Learn How To Protect Yourself Today.
Have a look at this preview below.
Disclaimer: In no way by mention of specific products, services or company names do we endorse or recommend the use or disuse of any of these products, services or companies. Products, examples and links are provided as a starting point for readers and must make their own decisions about how much security they need and whether particular offerings and products will suit their needs.
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