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Being safe on the internet

Discussion in 'Internet' started by daviels, Mar 29, 2018.

  1. daviels

    daviels New Member

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    The internet is a staple in many people's
    everyday lives. It is a great place full of
    wonderful information, but it is also full of
    many dangers. This wikiHow will give you a
    few tips on how to be safe on the internet.
    Part One of Two:
    Protecting Your Identity
    Choose strong passwords. Passwords
    are the keys to your accounts - only
    the person with the key can access them.
    When choosing a password, you want to
    make sure you choose one that is unique,
    strong, and not easily guessed by
    strangers or those close to you. Choose a
    password that uses letters, numbers,
    lowercase, uppercase, and characters. [1]
    Choosing password or 1234 is lazy -
    and easily guessable. Choosing
    birthdays of those close to you (or
    yourself) is probably also not safe.
    The longer your password is, the
    harder it will be to guess. Also try
    leaving out letters, or substituting
    numbers for letters. Full dictionary
    words are easier to guess than ones
    with intentional typos or
    substitutions.
    Try passwords that reference phrases
    or things significant only to you. For
    example, if the name of your beloved
    childhood goldfish was Sir Bubbles,
    swap out some of the letters for
    numbers and you can end up with a
    very nice password like s1rbubb735
    that only you understand.
    Make sure to choose passwords that
    are easily remembered or write them
    down. If you write down your
    passwords, don't leave them in plain
    sight. Don't keep them on your
    computer desk by your computer.
    Never use the same password for
    different accounts. If you don’t want
    to come up with and keep track of
    dozens of different passwords, come
    up with a base password (ex.
    s1rbubb735) and tack a logical
    modifier onto it for each account. For
    example, on Amazon, use
    amzns1rbubb735; on Gmail, use
    gmails1rbubb735 or for Twitter
    twitts1rbubb735.
    It is good practice to change your
    password every few months.
    Be mindful when installing programs
    or agreeing to terms. When you sign
    up for newsletters, install programs, or
    agree to anything, read the fine print. If
    you do not want to receive junk mail or
    get put on a telemarketer list, look for a
    small box near the bottom of the page that
    asks if you want to receive information
    and offers from other companies. The
    best sites will have a statement listed that
    they will not sell your name to other
    companies (though they may still send you
    e-mails themselves).
    Quite frequently, some adware
    powered downloads, installation
    packages, malvertising even drive-by
    virus has the power to provide
    inexperienced users loads of
    junkware. Example is, Oracle's Java
    online installer bundled the
    installation of Ask Toolbar (aka,
    Search App by Ask) in its express
    install mode. For case study, you can
    review the following image for further
    references. To stop such an action
    that aims to promote foistware, one
    should take highly proactive
    approaches to keep all other
    bloatware at bay, e.g., scanning the
    downloaded executable file via an up-
    to-date virus protection or an online
    malware scanner (such as, Google's
    VirusTotal.com), always performing
    the "clean" or custom install mode,
    unchecking all other optional "offers"
    during the install procedure.
    Many of these websites can put
    adware on your computer that tracks
    your movements and browser habits.
    Use caution when you come upon
    those kinds of websites. [2]
    Some sites require you to give all
    your information to get the product.
    Only fill in required fields that are
    marked with an asterisk (*). If the
    info box does not have an asterisk, it
    is optional and you can leave it blank.
    Do not give out personal details to
    strangers. Don't give your full name,
    address, or phone number to anyone
    online that you don't trust or know. This is
    especially important in chat rooms, when
    negotiating jobs or deals, or making plans
    through meet-up sites.
    Be careful when making friends on
    the internet. Many great friendships
    can be cultivated through social
    media, but there are many people
    who pretend to be someone they are
    not.
    Practice caution when dating online.
    Use only your first name, and never
    give out specific personal details, no
    matter how great the other person
    seems. Don't give money to people
    you have met online. When you finally
    decide to meet, always meet in busy
    public places, like a restaurant or
    coffee shop. Let other people know
    where you are going, and never let
    them pick you up or go back to their
    place. [3]
    Giving personal details to strangers
    not only compromises your accounts
    and identity, but your physical safety
    as well. While most people on the
    internet may be benign and friendly,
    you have to be aware of the
    possibility of people using chat
    rooms, social media, and other
    websites to collect information that
    could lead to physical harm at your
    place of employment or at home.
    Always check the legitimacy of
    websites when you shop. If the site
    has a messy design or pop ups, it
    might not be legitimate. Beware of
    sites that don't allow you to pay
    through things like PayPal or with a
    credit card. [4] When shopping on
    sites like Craigslist , practice caution.
    Don't fall prey to phishing scams.
    Phishing e-mails are messages that
    appear to be from legitimate companies,
    such as your bank or stores where you've
    shopped, that provide links to fake
    websites and ask for personal information.
    [5]
    Always look at the e-mail address.
    Many senders of online scam e-mails
    won't have addresses that match the
    company they claim to represent. Or
    the address will be altered slightly so
    that it might not catch the eye of an
    unmindful person.
    Beware of phishing e-mail scams
    claiming to be from eBay, PayPal, a
    bank, or a company you trust asking
    for personal or sensitive information.
    The e-mail may inform you that there
    is a problem with your account and/
    or password. There may be a link to
    click inside. If you get an e-mail like
    this, don't click on the link. Go
    directly to the website by typing the
    URL into your browser.
    Hover your mouse over suspicious
    links. At the bottom of your screen,
    you should see the true URL for the
    website. Many phishing websites will
    show a different website in the
    bottom of your browser or beside
    your mouse when you hover over the
    link. [6]
    Forward any of suspicious e-mails to
    the company it claims to be sent
    from. They will confirm whether the
    e-mail you received was real or not.
    E-mail programs like Yahoo!, MSN,
    Hotmail and Gmail will never ask you
    for your e-mail password. Don't fall
    for it and give away your password.
    Keep your eyes peeled for online
    scams. Online scams crop up
    everywhere. These scams can pop up in e-
    mails, tweets, Facebook posts, and many
    other places. Don't click on links that don't
    look like a real address or contains a lot
    of letters and characters that look like
    gibberish.
    Never click on pop-ups or e-mails
    that claim you have won millions of
    dollars. These are scams.
    Don't fall prey to e-mails inviting you
    to play foreign lotteries. [7] Also
    beware of e-mails which ask you to
    help someone transfer large sums of
    money or inheritances out of their
    country after giving you a long sad
    story. [8]
    Limit the information you share on
    social media. Facebook, Twitter,
    Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other
    social media sites are part of most
    people's every day lives. On Facebook,
    people post their maiden names, their
    parents' names, their birthdays, the
    birthdays of their children, their
    hometowns, their home address, their
    home, and cell phone numbers, along with
    myriad other personal information. This
    information gives anyone with a computer
    just about every essential piece of
    information about you. [9] Limit what you
    share online to protect your identity and
    privacy. [10]
    Sharing too many details on social
    media sites can put you in physical
    danger as well. Letting the internet
    know where you live and when you
    will not be at home may lead to
    someone breaking into your house -
    especially when they see all the
    photos of your new TV, computers,
    and jewelry. Too many personal
    details, like your home address,
    phone number, and daily whereabouts
    and habits, gives stalkers plenty of
    information to use against you.
    Many secure sites, like banking,
    insurance, loan, and school websites,
    require security questions. These
    questions include: "What is your
    mother's maiden name?", "What is
    your paternal grandmother/father's
    name?", "What town did you grow up
    in?", or "What is your father's
    birthday?" These answers can be
    found easily on some people's
    Facebook pages.
    Sharing this kind of information can
    result in identity theft.
    When choosing security questions,
    don't choose ones that have answers
    easily discovered on social media.
    Choose harder questions only you
    know the answer to.
     
  2. justmine

    justmine New Member

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    You're right about the password and put it to the number one spot. If you don’t want someone breaking into your data, you have to put a firm lock on the door. Hard password will help a lot, you're right about using some special characters numbers and some capital letters for your password. Clear the cache and cookies always after you use your browser will help a lot also. It’s very easy for anyone else to view that cache and steal a detailed record of your online activities. The other thing also is do not use the public WiFi. These services might be convenient, but they’re also an open door to everything on your device. Unless you really need it, don’t use it. We should also use the HTTPS instead of just HTTP for additional security while we browsing the web. Be aware also from some sites who asking for your personal details, most of them are fishing site or hacker's site. Downloading sites are also very risky, we should download our files only from trusted sites.
     

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