Staying Safe Online 3765

Staying Safe Online Staying safe online is and has been a hot topic in the news for a while now. There have been stories of fraud, virus ridden computers and online bullying. There are ways you can prevent yourself from losing your privacy online and staying safe. No matter if you are completely new to the internet and find it a bit overwhelming or you have been using it for years you must always use caution. The following tips will help you to enjoy the internet: Social Media When using social media websites such as Facebook and MySpace you must remember to only provide information that you do not mind people who do not know you seeing. So things like date of birth, telephone numbers and addresses are a big no no. If you are planning on holding a party do not just place it on your main page for everyone to see because history has found that people you do not even know see the event and turn up. Don't invite people to become your friends if you do not know them as they could be sharing your details with others or they might not even be who they say they are. Social media is fantastic but it must be used with caution as it can end up being harmful to you. Online Payments If you shop online and want to make online payments be aware of whom you are buying from and their privacy policy. The first thing to look for when typing in credit details and personal information is that there is a padlock either in the web address section of your web browser or the bottom right. This means that the page is encrypted so that the information cannot be seen or stolen. If the padlock isn't there do not type anything in. If the online price seems too good to be true it probably is. For instance if the usual price is �200 but someone is selling it for only �80 you really have to investigate the site further and even check site reviews into your search engine. If it has ripped someone off they have probably written a review about it to let everyone know. Always use a credit card not a debit card when buying online as this way you are insured if fraud does happen and the money hasn't been taken directly out of your bank account, check with your credit card provider first. Email Phishing You will receive emails from people you do not know and you have the following options: � Look at the email title and if it doesn't interest you then delete it. � Open the email to see what is there If you choose to open the email do not open any attachments as these can contain viruses which will infect your PC. If the email asks for personal details such as bank details and addresses do not respond what ever you do. Banks do not ask for passwords and details through an email and this is known as phishing. Downloading If you like to download music and videos from the internet be sure that you are using a safe source. The website you are downloading from may have virus filled download files which will infect your PC. The best advice is to use well reviewed and highly regarded websites such as i-tunes as the risk is then minimal and have a cyber security. A good anti virus software programme will also prevent this problem by either stopping the download or patching it up. Yet again if the price seems too good to be true it usually is! Virus Protection Software This is a must for any computer user. The amount of people still using the internet without protecting themselves is huge. If you go onto a poor website that will infect your PC with marketing malware you will find it frustrating. This is also true of bad downloads. Anti Virus software stops you from visiting bad websites, it filters your spam emails, prevents phishing, blocks hackers and prevents bad downloads. This will mean that your computer is fully protected at all times. I cannot stress enough the importance of good anti virus software, don't just go for the cheap option either. One of the best I have used and continue to use without any instance of a problem is Mcafee. There are other great ones available both on disk and for downloading. Please follow the above tips to make sure that you surf the net safely and protect your expensive equipment.