|
|
|
These days a problem that is occurring more often is identity theft it has become so serious that victims of it can end up losing everything they have. The Internet makes it much easier to impersonate someone which means that it is possible the ones we are communicating with are not who we think they are.
While identity theft has become very common it is not the only security issue we face there are others like scams which are usually designed to take money from us in a variety of ways. Another big issue are those who are trying to get information from us for various reasons which range from finding out who we are and where we live to going after our children.
|
 |
|
There are a variety of different types of hoaxes referring to just as many different topics. The type we are talking about on this page relate to computer hoaxes which may refer to scams, malware or various other topics. Hoaxes may be created as a practical joke however they can be a very serious and expensive issue to deal with.
The reason hoaxes can be so destructive and costly when is comes to computers is that they can bring down an entire network by flooding the system with more emails than it can handle. For this reason the hoax should be confirmed as being real before spreading emails or discussing it as a reality with others.
Spreading information about a hoax may cause individuals not to use their computers for fear of catching a virus or having other issues happen. This is why its very important that we take the time to confirm or deny it before spreading false information.
Sometime it can be determined if a hoax is real or not by typing the details of it into a search engine like Yahoo . Quite often if there is a hoax someone will have posted information about it on the web and these details will be found by the major search engines.
|
 |
|
On the Internet there are individuals trying to obtain personal information through any means they can. You probably heard about identity theft which can change a person´s life which is why we need to take precautions on our computer and the Internet to secure our personal information.
|
 |
|
There are various scams which occur on the web. These come in many different forms, probably the most popular is through email. An email may claim you have won a large cash amount. If you really won a prize and it was legitimate they would not ask you send anything. These are usually contests you never heard anything about so how it that you won something that is was never even entered. Eventually it will probably ask for you to send money or provide information like a bank account. Do not provide information to them or you may find your account empty the next time you check it.
If there is a phone number listed on the email and you enter it in a search box like Yahoo there will be results which show it. You should keep track of any contests you do enter since I am sure a lot of people get fooled by this since the emails can look very professional.
|
|
While security issues vary greatly most of them can be avoided by following some precautions which are shown below.
- Avoid providing personal information unless absolutely necessary.
There are bogus web sites that impersonate legitimate ones which may even look identical, most of these have the URL spelled slightly different. If the web site seems different it may help to open a new browser window and start over. Be sure the web site asking for information is legitimate before providing it. Any type of information sent over the Internet has the possibly of being seen by others.
- Educate children
Children are especially prone to giving out personal information since they can be so trusting. Teach them about what they should and should not do while on the Internet, there are predators who are looking to take advantage of them. Younger should also be monitored while using the Internet until they understand what is safe to do on the Internet.
- Do not reply to scams from email.
Emails saying you won a lottery or will receive money but you need to provide personal information or a bank account number are usually scams. It is usually easy to determine by realizing you do not even know why you are receiving it. If you reply to these with bank account numbers your account will quickly be emptied. Most of these scams can be found by searching Yahoo.
- Use strong passwords for documents containing personal information.
We all need to store personal information somewhere and a computer seems to be the easiest place to do this. These documents should be secured by using passwords which should be very strong. Strong passwords are those that consist of numbers, letters and symbols since they are much harder to crack. They can be created by substituting symbols and numbers for letters.
- Store passwords in a safe place.
Do not store passwords on a computer unless they are in a password protected document. If a password must be written down do not place it in front of a computer or where it can be easily accessed, store it in a safe place. Do not give your password to anyone else or let them see you typing it in.
- Do not open suspicious emails.
Emails can contain viruses, scams or a variety of other files which is why these types of emails should just be deleted.
- Turn the computer off when not in use.
There are programs which were created to take control of computers so the controller van perform malicious acts is much harder to catch. If a computer is left on all the time it makes it easier for these programs to find and control them.
|
|
|
|
