1. Never have an internet
connection w/o the presence of
an ACTIVE Firewall and
Anti-Virus.
* Of course it may be a little
quicker to access your online
banking when your trusty IE
browser automatically inputs
your password, but those virus
developers love to make those
programs designed to sniff
through your cookies to find
that good ole' username and
password for their own ventures.
2. Use Firefox or any browser
other than Internet Explorer if
possible.
* Virus developers focus on
distributing their projects to
as many computers as possible
* Roughly 79% (http://www.upsdell.com/BrowserNews/stat_trends.htm)
of surfers use Internet Explorer
which makes IE the target
browser for virus developers.
3. Don't have your browser
remember any passwords.
* I know it's pretty cool and
quick to have your browser
automatically put those
passwords in for you but those
virus developers are pretty
sneaky these. Those nice little
cookie sniffing programs can
possibly sniff out the
remembered passwords.
4. Never input private
information (Real name, address,
credit card info) into a site
where there is no security lock
present.
5. Never give out your usernames
and/or passwords to anyone.
* When talking to people in chat
rooms also be careful not to
give anyone your real name or
any revealing information.
6. Try not to use the same
username and passwords for every
login you have.
* It is much safer to use one
username and password for you
Online Banking, another username
and password for your E-mail,
another username and password
for you myspace login and so on.
* Using different usernames and
passwords for your Online
Accounts prevents hackers from
possibly getting one username
and password and logging in to
all your accounts with that one
username and password
7. Never download anything that
you haven't researched first.
* Downloading something you know
nothing about is a very serious
risk to your computer. Make sure
to do a quick Google search on
any program you plan on
downloading to see what other
people have to say about it
first.
8. When downloading and
installing programs, don't just
install everything it tells you
to in the installation.
* Be sure NOT to install
anything you may not want (such
as yahoo toolbars, google
toolbars, etc.) because they
could come with unwanted adware
or spyware that can be very
annoying and possibly hazardous
to your computer.
9. Always clear you Browsing
History when finished surfing
the web.
* Delete cookies, history, temp
files, form data, and passwords
Firefox has a great feature
where it can ask you to clear
you Browsing History every time
you close the browser.
10. Last but definitely not
least, NEVER MAKE ARRANGEMENTS
TO MEET ANYONE (in person) WHOM
YOU MET IN A CHAT ROOM, MYSPACE,
ETC.
* This is very important for
your own safety. Especially if
you are under 18, but I
personally don't recommend
anyone of any age to perform
this type of arrangement. The
only instance where I see that
this may be appropriate is where
you join an online dating
community and you want to meet
someone you met through the
community. I have never been a
part of any of these communities
but I know that most of them are
pretty strict about protecting
their users, but by all means BE
CAREFUL.
* Parents please pay close
attention to your children's
relationships with the people
they meet on communities such as
Myspace. From kids running away
to be with people they met on
the popular online communities,
to pranks going too far and
resulting in suicides, it all
happens on Myspace and other
popular online communities. Of
course it is not the
communities' faults, but the
careless people that your
children could be associated
with within the community is by
far to blame.
