What a Tangled Web

Internet Security Tips For the Uninitiated

It is sad that the web has become such a frightening place for the unwary, especially the older generation (a group that I will soon be joining looking at my graying sideburns and bald head). Small business people, little old grannies, housewives and even successful executives have fallen victim to many a scam perpetrated on them through the Internet making those who hear of these incidents even more hesitant to go online. This is a pity because the Internet offers so much.  In view of this, here are a few tips if you happen to be one of the “graying” Internet dabblers who has mastered e-mail and uses Internet banking but does little else with the Internet save checking on the sports scores and weather.

1. Don’t Use Public Internet Access to Log into Internet Banking
No website is infallible, no matter how good they say their security is and banks are prime targets for Internet criminals. In a place like an Internet café, a library or airport where anyone has access to the computer it is a huge no-no to log into any site that contains any of your personal information, especially one containing sensitive data like bank account numbers. Internet café computers are notoriously corrupt and criminals will often load software onto these public machines to store usernames and passwords which are later retrieved and used to access whichever sites the unsuspecting victims logged into from the Internet café. I would go so far as to say don’t even log into webmail (like Gmail or Yahoo!mail) or social sites like Facebook from these public machines.

2. Check the Lock
When logging into any secure environment like a banking website, make sure that the log in page’s web address starts with “https//:www…”. That “s” denotes that the communication between your computer and the server is secure. There should be a small lock icon at the bottom of the web browser and/or a coloured bar to the left of the web address that shows that the page is secure. If you click on the lock icon, you will be able to view the SSL certificate that confirms that the site is secure. This does not guarantee that the website is secure, however, but it offers some protection to you at least.

3. Use Firefox
Think about switching to the Mozilla Firefox web browser if you are still using Internet Explorer. Firefox is free and far more secure than Internet Explorer. And if you couldn’t be bothered to change, at least upgrade your browser to the latest version. So if you are still using Internet Explorer 5 or 6 you are looking for trouble as they are notoriously “cheesy” (full of holes).

4. Don’t Follow Links in Suspicious E-mails
This is how most people get caught out. They get an e-mail from “their bank” asking them to click on a link and into “their bank’s” website to verify their details or something. What appears to be the bank’s website is actually a mock-up and when they log in, their usernames and passwords are stored and used by the criminals who set the scam up to enter their actual online bank account and steal the money they have there.
Banks should never ever ask you to do anything like this. They will never ask you to log into their website to do anything. If you get a message like this, phone your bank and ask about it before doing anything.

5. This May Seem Obvious …
The truth is that if you receive an e-mail asking to store money in your bank account for a weekend in return for a million dollars, it’s a scam. These sorts of things just don’t happen. If you hand your bank account details over, you are going to lose your money. Any deal that seems too good to be true IS too good to be true.

6. Beware of the Unsolicited Attachment
If you get an e-mail from someone you don’t recognize with an attachment (an attachment is a file that accompanies an e-mail and on which you must click to download to your computer where you would open it), I would suggest deleting it out of hand – especially if it promises free porn or a deal that’s too good to be true. Most e-mail systems can now clean malicious e-mails but their attachments could very well contain a virus that will infect your computer when downloaded and opened. This is how many computer viruses are spread nowadays.

7. Don’t Store Important Passwords in Your Phone or Keep Them in Your Wallet/Purse
If your phone or wallet/purse get stolen, nice Mr. Thief can peek at your important info and log into your accounts if he has some initiative. So where do you keep passwords? If you are like me, you have loads of passwords and it would be impossible to remember them all. I have had them tattooed backwards onto the soles of my feet so I can read them in a mirror. No chance that any criminal is going to get close to my sweaty feet on a hot day. It’s a personal choice but it helps to be devious. Many people I know write all their passwords in a small book that they hide away on their desk. That way they have all their codes in one place and it isn’t on their computer (which could get broken into – or hacked). Obviously the book could get stolen when nice Mr. Thief visits you in the dead of night and so it is important to put it somewhere not too obvious.

8. Don’t Use the Same Password Everywhere
Many people use the same password (usually their birthday) for all of their online accounts because it is easy to remember. Uh-oh. When nice Mr. Thief finds out one password he tries his luck at some other places he thinks you might be a member and voila! He has access to your virtual life. Then suddenly your bank account is empty and your Facebook gallery is full of pornography. 

9. A Secure Password
There are dictionary programs out there than can crack a password made up of only English words or names in a matter of minutes, so it’s important to use difficult to guess passwords that would not appear in the dictionary. What is more, your passwords should be at least eight characters long and contain more than one capital letter and a few numbers. You could just use random numbers and letters – like F5bs91Xw95lq - but the problem with that is that it’s difficult to remember unless you have a head for that sort of thing. So I usually use a word or words that I will remember and alter it/them to make it harder to guess – like baZoo5kaf9iSh (“bazooka” and “fish” with a few numbers thrown in). 

10. Get an Anti-Virus Program for Your Computer
Viruses are becoming a bigger and bigger threat as the Internet becomes more and more important and they live inside millions of computers without their owners ever realizing it, siphoning off information and sending it to the virus’ creator or acting as a transit point for computer code to attack government and corporate networks. It is therefore essential that every person take responsibility for their own computer’s security. Decent anti-virus software is available for free (suck as Komodo firewall) although paid-for software is always better. I use NOD 32 which is extremely good, easy to use and inexpensive. Make sure that the software you choose has a firewall, an anti-virus capability that is updated regularly (at least once a day) and an e-mail scanning capability. And don’t use pirated security software as you are playing with fire. Rather get the free software.

Security is an important part of being a “netizen” as much as it is in the real world, perhaps more so. And although much can be gained from being online, much can be lost as well. It’s important not to trust everything you read on the Internet and to take the trouble to find out about security, especially if you are going to conduct commerce online. Oh, and I was kidding about the tattoos on my feet.