1) Don’t Give Out Personal Information
Seems like a no brainer but remember never give out your full name, address & phone number, unless it is to a secure site or it is a reputable site with a Trust E privacy policy. Take time to read a Website’s policy!
2) Protect Yourself From Spam (junk mail)
When posting to an email list or bulletin board, do not give out your main email address. Instead use Hotmail or other “disposable” address. Keep your main email address private, just like you keep your real home address private. Get the equivalent of a Post Office box with a free email address from Yahoo or Google’s Gmail.
3) Protect Your Money
Do not give out your credit card info unless it is a secure site. You can tell if site is secure by looking at the lower portion of your screen if you are using Internet Explorer. To view more information about the security, double click on the lock. With Netscape, look at your security icon (looks like a padlock). If it is locked, the site is secure, unlocked means that you should not give a credit card number. For more information about the security, you can click on the padlock. Also make sure that it is a reputable site that you are ordering from.
4) Get Rich Quick!
If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is! If you get spam (electronic version of junk mail) that says you can make thousands of dollars in a few days, it isn’t true. Most likely it will cost you. Stay away from these offers!
5) A Good Virus Scan
Update your virus scan. New viruses come out daily. When you buy a virus scan, it may be on the shelves for months, so you need to update it from the company website. Read the manual that comes with the software and update frequently.
6) Protect Yourself from Dangerous Email Viruses
Do not open email attachments that are programs (the file name will be *.exe). The most common way to get a virus on your computer is from an email attachment that are exe. programs. Receiving these in email are harmless but opening them and running the program can infect your computer.
7) Be Careful What You Download
If you download programs from the Internet be sure to scan them with an up to date virus scan. Also be sure they are from a reputable source. Downloading an update for Windows is a good thing! Downloading from Joe Smo’s website may get you into trouble! If you are tempted to try out Joe’s program, be sure to update your virus scan, then scan the program before trying to use it.
8) Stalking
If you think you are being stalked when you are online, log off! If you think you are being stalked off line report it to your local authorities. If someone has information about your address and are sending you threatening emails, then report it to the police. Chances are this will never happen to you, but if it does, do not hesitate to report it.
9) Use strong passwords.
Hackers may try to steal passwords to gain access to the your information. Make stealing passwords as difficult as possible. Use passwords that have at least eight characters and include both numerals or symbols. Avoid common words since some hackers use programs that can attempt to gain access by using every word in the dictionary. Don’t permit passwords to be personal information, login names or use keys that are next to each other on the keyboard.
The Internet Service Provider (ISP) will never ask for a password, either by phone or online.
