Basics to being secure on-line…
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 |Being secure on-line does not have to be too hard and it’s definitely something you need to practice. If you lock your door at home when you leave, you should be doing the same while on your computer.
Here are just some basics:
- When a website asks you for sensitive personal information (password, social security number, etc.) make sure that in your web browser’s address bar, you see https:// before the site’s name, not http. The s stands for Secure protocol which means all data you enter on that site will be sent via encrypted connection making it virtually impossible, or very hard, for others to sniff the data. This is ESPECIALLY important when you are accessing sites from a public network - those found in Panera Bread, Airports, Starbucks, etc. These are completely insecure and any one of those people sipping coffee next to you could be running a Wireless Sniffing program and see all the data transmitted to and from your computer.
- Secure your home wireless network. Most routers come configured without any password and encryption out of the box. This is so you can easily connect to the Internet as soon as you get it. However, do read the manual which came with your router and set up an encrypted connection. You will see a couple of different encryption schemes offered. WEP is an old and not too good scheme of encrypting data (still better than none), but WPA and WPA2 protocols are much better. This will also prevent other uninvited guests (neighbors maybe) from accessing your home network which may or may not be secure. This way - you, at least, close the wide open door.
- I am all for sharing. I do let my neighbors access my wireless but in a secure way, through a special router form FON.com. This way I also get free access on all other Fon hotspots around the world - and there are tens of thousands of them. Check this article about how to do this. You can also get paid for sharing your WiFi
- Before logging in to important sites like: your bank, eBay, PayPal, etc. make sure you check that address bar again. First for the s in https:// part, and second, check that the site’s address really IS as expected. There are a lot of "phishing" websites out there which pretend to look like your bank’s site, or one of the mentioned, but are in fact just a front for a scheme to steal your passwords.
- When signing up for things like newsletters, or when you need to enter your email address in order to get something back (like access to a feature or download), remember to use that second email address as explained in: First Things First, Get an email address or two.
- Do not enter your Social Security Number anywhere other than on your bank’s site (in rare occasions), if you are signing up for a free credit report (though be careful: read step #5 again), or if you are setting up Google’s AdSense to send you money you earned from advertising
Be safe
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