Best Internet Security Practices
There are many simple ways to keep your personal information private and secure on the internet. The best rule of thumb is to treat your online information in the same way you would your wallet or purse. The best internet security practice is to go with your instincts when trusting or not trusting online shopping websites and the like.
If a website asks for personal information like social security numbers, bank account numbers or credit card numbers, first assess why they need this information. If you are buying something with a credit card or applying for a loan, these kinds of information are routinely asked for. In cases like these, look for seals of approval from trusted organizations like the Better Business Bureau, McAfee, or other well-known security agencies.
Also, doing business with well-established internet companies is also an excellent way to make sure your information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Aside from online shopping, email scams can also trick you out of important information.
More and more, thieves are inventing ways to swindle people out of their money by sending out seemingly harmless emails, or phishing scams, in the hopes of duping some poor, unsuspecting sap out of their information. These scams come in all shapes and sizes, and are often disguised as emails from your bank, package shipping companies, online stores and foreign lottery companies. Legitimate institutions will never ask you to re-enter sensitive credit card information within the body of an email.
Just think–why would your bank be asking you to confirm your account number. They already have it, don’t they? If something just doesn’t seem right or seems too good to be true, you’re probably right. When in doubt, contact the organization directly and ask to speak with a manager, on the off-chance it is a legitimate piece of correspondence.
Common sense is key when it comes to keeping your information safe. Don’t post sensitive contact information, dates, and numbers in public places like social networking sites–just as you wouldn’t post your social security number on the telephone pole across the street. With the right precautions, a healthy dose of skepticism and some common sense, you’ll be well on your way to a happy and safe online experience.
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Best Internet Security
It seems that everyone is on the internet now. Ten years ago it was a relatively a new concept, but it’s now become an everyday thing that people do. The average family has more than one computer and/or laptop in their home. It’s important now more than ever to have the best internet security to protect our personal information as well as reducing the amount of spam and junk mail that could possibly install viruses on our systems.
Unfortunately, there are so many different types of security programs that we can download on to our computers. How do we know which program to use? Each one of them are good in their own way, but to know which one you need is up to you.
One of the oldest security programs that most know about is Norton security program. I’ve used it and I think it works just great. If you’re using this program, you’re pretty much in good hands.
What about McAfee Security Program? Well, I started using this program about two years ago when I bought a laptop and it was installed on it already. I found it to be just as good as Norton in protecting the computer from the outside world. What I found different was the fact that it’s security center was a lot easier to navigate through. Overall the two programs are just as good as the other.
If you want to know which program to use to protect your computer, I would say that any one of the two that I spoke about is good to go with, but there are some others out there that will work just as well. It’s a matter of personal preference in regards of which one will give you the best internet security. The reason I talked about Norton and McAfee is because they are the leaders when it comes to protecting your personal computer or laptop.
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Best Internet Security – Spyware
Do you have any idea how many adwares and spywares have made their way into your computer? If you don’t have the best internet security installed on your computer or laptop, that number may be well into the hundreds. If you don’t have any security program running on your computer , you’re just asking for more trouble than one person wants to ever have on their system.
In another post I spoke about a plug-in called Intelligent Explorer. What a nightmare that could be for anyone who’s downloaded it by mistake. Spyware or adware items are constantly infecting computers and laptops. Too many computer don’t have any protection from them. That is one of the biggest mistakes that any computer owner can make.
According to a 2004 survey by AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 91% of users questioned were familiar with the term spyware. Only 53% believed their computers were infected, but a scan found that 80% of their PCs had some type of spyware installed on them.” It goes on to say, “…The average number of spyware components per computer was 93 with one computer having well over a thousand.”
According to Butte College the definition for spyware is:
“The term ‘spyware’ is broadly defined as any program that gets into your computer without permission and hides in the background while it makes unwanted changes to your user experience.
Spyware is generally not designed to damage your computer. The damage it does is more a by-product of its main mission, which is to serve you targeted advertisements or make your browser display certain sites or search results.
At present, most spyware targets only the Windows operating system (Internet Explorer).”
Don’t get me wrong when I say that some spyware is harmless. Cookies are quite harmless, yes they infringe on your privacy, but that’s about it. Other than that, the rest can and are dangerous.
I’m sure you’re wondering what is it that you can do to protect your computer. Here are some of the top spyware tools out there to look at.
1) Spybot Search & Destroy from PepiMK Software
2) Xoftspy form Pareto Logic
3) Spyware Guard from Javacool Software is a free program
4) Pest Patrol (now part of Computer Associates by acquisition)
5) McAfee Anti-Spyware
Don’t kid yourself by thinking that you don’t need to take spyware seriously, because if you don’t and get infected by something, your only recourse is to lose the information that is on your computer and completely reinstall the operating system.
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