Many people are not aware that they are making it very easy for cyber criminals to invade their privacy.  This typically happens when convenience is prioritized over the more critical matter of security.  People relax their guard as they choose the easiest path to go about their online transactions.  Let’s face it, the use of the Internet is a risk in itself but we multiply that risk when we fail to consider the factors that make us susceptible to fraud and theft.

Protecting our most basic online defenses is a primary concern.  User names and passwords are our first line of defense but they tend to be compromised by the tendency to use the same names and passwords for all online transactions.  The main problem here is that we make it easy for cyber criminals  to penetrate our transactions in the same manner as we give easy access to ourselves.  The practice can admittedly save time during the initial stage but the probable resulting loss requires more time and effort to correct.  Identity theft can be a traumatic experience both in the physical and emotional aspects.

Cyber criminals are at their work without people realizing it.  They are constantly trying to discover passwords by fishing for personal information such as names and dates related to family or work.  They can also try to steal passwords saved from memory. They can even be looking into various word and number permutations that will provide them the key to the doors of your private world.

A little effort towards making yourself less predictable to cyber thieves goes a long way.  It can be readily understood why some people persist on unsafe online practices especially if they don’t have prior bad experience in transacting online.  Due to the sheer amount of information we are encouraged not to put in writing for our own protection,  we try to help our memory by choosing letters and numbers that we can easily recall.  That is the very weakness which cyber criminals are looking out for.

• Be careful who you communicate with

The creators of many of these viruses typically live online and search the web looking for susceptible ‘targets’ which they can send their viruses to. If you are talking to someone online for the first time, don’t give them any pieces of personal information such as your email address or the type of computer you use. Thankfully the majority of people on blogs and social networks are helpful and friendly, so if you suspect someone is sending out viruses ask for advice from a number of different sources and report any guilty user to the relevant authorities.

• Take care when downloading files

The majority of files that people send typically use mainstream programs such as Word and PowerPoint to work. This means that the file names should end in standard suffixes such as .doc, .ppt, .xls or .com. If someone sends you a file that ends in an unusual suffix that you do not recognize, such as .js or .vbs, you should exercise caution as the file itself may not be safe. Delete any such emails or files immediately and, if you do not know the person that sent it to you, block them from your email and your networks.

• Avoid sharing disks

Occasionally files on disks and USB keys can become corrupted through excessive opening and editing. When this happens, opening the file on your computer and sometimes lead your computer to crash and become inoperable. In order to prevent this, try to avoid sharing external data storage devices with multiple users. If someone you know has a file that you really need, give them your own data key to download it onto that you know is clean and uncorrupted.

• Be careful which sites you use

Although the vast majority of websites are safe and secure, there are certain sites online that are less well known that are breeding grounds for computer viruses. Once a user arrives there, they are instructed to click on certain links or banners and are suddenly infected with some sort of virus. Luckily, mainstream search engines such as Google have powerful search algorithms designed to eliminate these sites from the results pages, so make sure you use one of these when you are browsing for data online.

• Maintain security when making payments

Although not technically a computer virus, many programmers can set up a dummy payment page that consumers are directed to when they shop online. This page allows them to see the person’s payment details as they are entered into the computer, which they can then steal. To avoid this, make sure any payment page you are on has ‘https’ at the beginning, rather than the standard ‘http’.

Following these guidelines should help ensure your safety online and prevent your computer from coming down with a virus. In the next article I will write about how to use your fax if you do a lot of metrofax email faxing, and other online fax related work.

Getting hold of an anti-virus software these days is not as hard as before. Normally, you had to the nearest computer shop and ask around which best anti-virus software can keep your protected and then install it once you buy it outright. Through the years, software companies have allowed anyone to download their software, try it and then eventually be given the option to buy it. Some are even lucky enough when geniuses develop certain key generators to which they can crack the trialware into the full version. But all that seems checked now.

To date, there are still an abundant number of sites like forums that house such cracks and codes. Some of them work but not as plenty as before. Software companies have religiously sought to skim them one by one, blacklisting said codes to which makes freeloaders scratch their heads and continue to get a working key just to avoid a couple of dollars. Sadly, that is not as rampant as before.

If you think about it, this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Software companies may soon follow the cue of Microsoft in blacking out their screens if they are using pirated versions. If Microsoft can do it, then why not companies like McAfee or Norton? They are not small time companies and for sure, they have the funds to make it work like Bill Gates did.

Cheaters cannot complain and so do pirated users. So if that happens, it will all be due to the nature of being a cheapskate that did these people in.

Emails are supposed to make life easier but sometimes, it may be wise to choose who you give out your email to. Today, a lot of mischief can be done and normally this comes in forms of email attacks or email bombs. In such scenarios, don’t be surprised if you find your email downloading hundred to a thousand emails in one sitting. That is not the best part. You would be lucky if this was done only once since others would schedule it daily.

Why do they do it? One is for trials of these foolish software and the other can perhaps be for malicious reason. It is a fact that while many people on the web cannot be harmed physically, they can create headaches for you in the form of discomforts from the privileges you get from the web. One of the main elements an online user would need to use is his email and by doing these email attacks, it burdens the person on how to get important information usually sent through the web.

One cannot avoid such instances. But the best way to prevent it is to choose the people you give it too. For people you meet on the web, it would be wise to use free mail accounts from Gmail or Yahoo over your personal one. Avoid the troubles of such since it will not only be a discomfort, but a forgettable experience as well.

How often do you use your personal e-mail? How about your work e-mail? I am willing to bet a huge sum that you can’t even answer those questions because you know that you spend a HUGE amount of time on e-mails. You spend so much time that you can’t even track it – but that’s how it is with most people today. E-mail has become part of everyone’s lives that it is not even given a second thought.

When it comes to security, however, we should give e-mail more than a second thought. Do you know just how many security pitfalls there are when it comes to e-mails? LOTS.

Here, take a look at some of these tips and you’ll realize that you haven’t really been paying attention to e-mail security.

When sending to a mailing list or to many people, use BCC.
B-what, you may ask. You know the two other fields below the TO field? One is CC (carbon copy) and the other is BCC (blind carbon copy). Using BCC means the recipients in the list will not see the e-mail addresses of the other recipients. This is particularly important in the eyes of the recipients who may not want unknown people finding out their e-mail addresses. Perfect situation to use this: when sending forwarded whatnots through e-mail.

Don’t be trigger happy.
That is, when you receive e-mails with links in them, asking you to immediately click on the link for one reason or another, DON’T. Even if you are worried to death that PayPal might close your account for no reason, DO NOT CLICK ON THAT LINK. The chances are that it’s not PayPal. If you really want to make sure, open another window and type the URL manually. Whatever you do, don’t click that link.

According to a recent survey conducted in the UK, mobile phone users do not really pay that much attention to security. IT Pro has this story:

Results from a survey of UK mobile phone users has found too many of us are playing fast and loose with sensitive data stored on our mobile phones.

More alarmingly though, it also found that the majority (99 per cent) of those questioned also used their mobiles for business use, creating a potentially weak security link to their employers’ corporate systems.

So what kind of sensitive data is stored in mobile phones? I think that you can answer this yourself but let’s take a look at some of them:

• Bank account details
• PINs
• Passwords
• Social security numbers

More than these things, mobile phone users also admitted to accessing and storing business data on their phones. This includes downloading spreadsheets and other business documents.

The worst part is that despite the fact that this information is stored in mobile phones, the units themselves do not have passwords and other forms of security measures.

The bottom line? At the very least, we have to put passwords on our mobile phones. Even better, enable encryption.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/osde-info/763025492/sizes/s/

This is especially valid for those of you who work on dynamic websites with various scripted elements and database interaction – a small flaw can quickly magnify to become a tremendous hole in your security, and you simply can’t afford to let that happen in the solutions you provide to your clients. There are various courses that aim to teach you the basics of implementing security in your designs, but keep in mind that trends change constantly.

And with that in mind, you should direct your attention towards discussion boards and other places where people actively talk about the latest events in the security world – because in the end, it pays a lot more than reading a book written ten years ago. And it’s also free.

It can be very difficult to find exploits in your own creations, especially when working on more complicated projects with tight deadlines. To this end, it greatly helps to have a friend or two who can help you poke holes in your security. You’d be surprised how easy it is for an outsider to spot the mistakes in your design!

Change the default administrator passwords. Default administrator passwords to network devices are easily available online and well-known to hackers. Most routers allow you to change this easily.

Turn on data encryption. This allows you to scramble the messages and data sent through the network. Most devices come from the manufacturers with this option turned off, so users have to activate this. Also note that all Wi-fi devices in your network must share the same data encryption settings to work together.

Disable SSID broadcast or change the default SSIDs. SSID is short for service set identifier, and is attached to the header of all packets in a wireless network. It also uniquely identifies your network. This is broadcast at regular intervals, and hackers can use this to identify vulnerable networks. Also, change your SSID from the default, and refrain from using IDs that can reveal who owns your router and where it’s located.

Restrict the computers that can access your network. You can do this by filtering the MAC (Media Access Control) addresses to those of the devices in your network.

Install antivirus software and firewalls. This might seem obvious, but after the initial install most users forget to update their virus definitions. Computers on a wireless network needs the same protection as other computers.