Stay Safe Online
The Internet has provided us with unparalleled access to information, shopping deals,
and to each other. It is an amazing tool
that has changed many of our lives in revolutionary and exciting ways. At the same time, by being so connected, we also make ourselves vulnerable to all sorts of digital parasites. Just as you try to not go
out in the rain without an umbrella, it is important to understand what is out there online and what you can do to protect yourself
One of the best ways to protect yourself online is to know and trust who you are dealing with whether you are shopping online, using email, downloading files, using instant messaging, registering with personally identifiable information at a new website or surfing the web. When entering your credit card number online or any personal information that is sensitive to you, make sure you see the a lock in the bottom of your browser which means the data you are transmitting is encrypted when it is sent. You should also make sure that you never download files from people you don?t know or click on links from SPAM. Incredibly, according to Consumer Reports, 1.2 million people supported companies who send SPAM by clicking on those emails and buying products. Also make sure that
you have the right defenses set-up on your computer if you have a broadband
(DSL or cable) connection. Without it
you are vulnerable - the average incident takes less than 3 minutes to occur
(and some as fast as 30 seconds). Without
question, you need virus protection and a firewall from reputable vendors with
automatic updates on and also make sure your operating system patches are set
to automatically update as well. A pop-up blocker may also be useful and come bundled in the toolbars from any of the major portals like AOL, Yahoo, Google, etc.
Learn more
Stay
Safe Online:
-Eight Cyber Security
Practices to Stay Safe Online
Consumer
Reports:
-Minimize
online risks - 13 steps to take, plus the programs you should be running
Smart places to find free trials of security software
CNet?s Download.com:
-Spyware Center (all software is vetted by staff and is adware free)
Tucows:
-Security Center
Did you know?
1) It is estimated that 80% of Internet users
have some form of a spyware (including adware) infection on their computer but only 53% know it
is present, according to a 2004 study by America Online and the National Cyber
Security Alliance.
2) According to a Consumer Reports study in
2005, 50% of respondents reported a spyware infection
and 18% of those were so bad they needed to erase their hard drives and
re-install all of their applications.
The average cost of severe incidents was estimated to be $250 per
incident, not to mention the time and stress to fix the situation.
3) The 2005 Consumer Reports study also noted that
64% of respondents had detected viruses on their computer in the past two
years. 40% of them found viruses at least
50 times over this period. The average
cost per incident was $312.
4) Overall levels of SPAM is
decreasing but 33% of the 2005 Consumer Reports study received more than the year
before. 6% admitted to submitting
personal information in response to a phishing scam
which led to an average loss of $400 and this can lead to identity theft.
5) The Federal Trade Commission reported in 2003
that 9.3M individuals (or 4.25% of all adults) are
victims of identity fraud on an annual basis.
It takes the average consumer an average of 28 hours to rectify the
situation and, while the majority of their costs are reimbursed by financial
providers, it is passed along to their vendors and eventually back to all of us
as consumers. U.S. Identity fraud crimes
now total $52.6B annually (up 2.3% from the previous survey) with a
per-individual total of $5,686 per victim.
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