Every day at work I get calls from customers who have infected computers, have questions about questionable emails and possibly are seeing and reading a scam. So how does one stay safe online? What makes sense? What do you need to know?
Consider this your boot camp for online safety:
1.So when it comes to viruses first invest in a good anti virus program. As well get a firewall and anti spyware software. There are good FREE downloads for each of these. Some internet service providers do provide these for free as well.
2. Update your computer often. This will help you will any unwanted bugs, and will help protect you from some viruses as well.
3.If you have a wireless network make sure you lock it down and encrypt it other wise anyone can use your connection from close by.
Then there are the personal safety issues:
You need to be careful what you open so you do not give out your personal info. These snooping missions come in all forms.
They arrive in your email inbox looking like legit emails. They come looking like a link from facebook , they come in a form of DM in twitter. So How do you guard yourself?
1. Be careful where you use your online info. I can happily say after 14 years of online activity I have never been scammed. I log in and if buying online use a secured site or I use paypal.
2. Never open a link in an email especially if it looks like a link from a business you use. Instead go and log on their site or better yet call them.
3. When using Social Media sites such as Facebook and Twitter I am careful what I links I open, mostly here they are looking for your passwords and log on info. I am careful what sites have access to these and you can check who has access to your personal information by checking your settings.
4. Ignore the scam emails and yes over the years I have gotten many offers that are down right ridiculous..just ignore these.
One of the biggest helps I can tell you is use a strong password. Mine are all a mix of numbers and letters. Safety is important when online so play safely and have fun, but always remember the rule safety first.
