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Everybody needs to think about staying
safe on line. Many people never think about the dangers that they and
their PCs or Laptops face whenever they go on-line. They are either
unaware of the dangers or they have the attitude "It will never happen
to me". These threats can range from Malware, Spyware and Viruses for
your PC, all the way through to Identity Theft. There are very simple
measures that everybody can take to dramatically reduce these risks.
They are;
Install some security packages on your
PC, whilst it is important to subscribe to one of the many services
available, there are many free products that you can use until you can
afford to purchase one of those packages (you can even use them
alongside the subscription packages - as I do). I list some of the
subscription services along with some of the better free services
available in the PC Security section of the site HERE.
There are also fraudulent emails sent
out frequently that will, in one way or another, attempt to gain some
of your personal information either by hidden spyware in the link which
may be in the mail itself, or, by completing a form and submitting it
by post or email. The golden rule here is, if it looks to good to be
true, then it probably is to be good to be true. The link in the email
could contain some fraudulent software, or, if a lot of information is
requested, that could be an attempt to steal your identity. You can
also take very simple measures to reduce the risk even further, they
include, some sort of Key Guard software - this scrambles each key
stroke you do when entering passwords, so if anybody is monitoring your
PC, with key logging software all they will see is a number of random
key strokes and not the actual passwords you are entering. Some of the
internet browsers offer these products as optional ad-ons that you can
install in your browser for free. Also consider using symbols for
letters in your passwords. So for example an 'a' could be replaced by
the '@' key or the number '8' could be used for an 'E' etc.
You can also get script monitoring /
blocking software, this stops 'hidden scripts' running on your PC. This
at best will slow your PC down and at worst will be a very serious
breach of your PC's security. Again some internet browsers of this type
of software as an ad-on that you can install in your browser free.
Please think about you and your PC's security and do what you can to
stay safe on line. Nobody can be 'bullet proof' but everybody can
reduce the risks they face. |
