Online Protection List

Online Protection List
By Vickie J. Scanlon

This is the season to be jolly, but if you work online, do business online or are making purchases online you should take as much precaution as possible to help protect you, your identity and your credit card. Here are some helpful hints.

1. Invest in anti-virus or Internet security software that offers continual updates.
2. Use Firefox or Opera – they offer stronger security when you are online.
3. Use Netcraft -this is a free service that will help you to identify any phishing sites. This can be used with Firefox and with Internet Explorer. Netcraft identifies the newness of the site, and if it is a phishing site it will stop you from entering.
4. Password Management Software- there are free and have-to-pay password management software that you can use to protect yourself from keyloggers. PasswordSafe is a free password manager. Though a little cumbersome-it’s a good free product, and it will protect your passwords. There is also Roboform which is free only if you have 10 or less passwords. If you have more than 10 than you have a one time charge with continual updates. Roboform is a more automated password manager, which gives you a little more security, along with password creation. Why invest in password protection. A worm can invade your system and nicely collect all your keystrokes. This technique is called keylogging. Once they have your password and user-id they can easily send you to a phishing site. If that happens, your valuable personal information has been compromised.
5. Make sure your operating system is updated regularly.
6. Back up important documents. If possible keep them offline.
7. Do not give out your credit card number(s) online unless the site is a secure and reputable site.
8. Never wire transfer money to people you do not know. For ebayers it is wise never to wire transfer money. The individual you are transferring the money to will get your money and you may never see the item you purchased.
9. Make sure the padlock notation is visible before entering information into any form. And the site is authenticated.

To conclude, protection online for a consumer or anyone working online should be a year-around thought- and an exercise in precaution. But sometimes we, as humans, let our defenses down, especially during the holiday season. So do not forget about doing your own due diligence before purchasing, as well as, being aware of the site you’re hitting when you click on the mouse. And as always, if the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

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