Basic Internet Security Tips for dummies

Basic security tips while using Internet

Internet, which is one of the great innovation the world has seen and it wont be too much to say that almost everything is running on internet weather its business, banks, stock exchanges or data mobility like IM, SMS and least but not last our social media portals etc. We all enjoy being connected and like to share things without a second thought on the digital media, but for the moment can we think that we will do the same in real world. Lets take an example, we accept the request of unknown people on social media and get connected, can we do the same in real life? We might hesitate to do so. We might think that it could be foolish to get along with unknown people. So basically we don’t think much when we do the same thing with online media and stuff related to online media. I would like to bring your attention to such overseen things which you encounter almost everyday, while accessing internet and working on internet.

Just follow below mentioned Internet security tips to stay safe online and you can shop, surf and socialize online, and sleep soundly afterwards too.

1. Keep separate emails for business and social media

Rather than linking Facebook, Twitter, newsgroups, forums, shopping and banking sites to one email address, use multiple addresses. As a minimum, use one for social activities and one for financial business.

Your social address will rightly draw more attention than your business one – that's the way you want it to be. If the former is hacked, it won't be as nightmarish as losing control of your financial address.

2. Be wary of Facebook

There are two key areas of social networking security – the technical sphere and the human one. Technical security is about setting up your profile correctly – your favorite site will explain how, so follow its guides. Next is the human aspect of security and our old friend, social engineering. No quantity of settings and checkboxes can prevent a user from willingly complying with the bad guys, and this is what they depend on. There's one simple rule to follow here: don't do or say anything online that you wouldn't do or say in real life.

3. Avoid being a mule

Everyday we receive emails claiming, “Work from home, earn 30000 or 40000 per month”. It sounds to good to be true, and it is. Scammers pass stolen cash to unsuspecting people, who transfer it back to the thieves via electronic payment. Your job with the work taken out is money laundering. Beware. Never reply to such emails, you will be the easy fish in the net. With Cyber Trafficking is high on alert such activity can land you to social as well as national security threat.

4. Set a strong password

We always prefer to set simple and memorable passwords. This is big advantage to hackers that they can run tools and try to create combination of numbers and alphabets to crack your password. Its always advisable to create complex passwords with alphanumeric and special characters.

5. Take care on public networks

Never, under any circumstances, use a public network for financial transactions. Only send your personal and financial details over a network you've set up yourself, or one you know to be secure. Who knows what horrors are lurking on the hard disk of that internet cafe machine, or somewhere between it and its internet access point?

Hackers have also been known to set up laptops to broadcast networks with names such as 'Free Internet Access' in hotels. They'll let you pass internet traffic through them and harvest any juicy details as you type.

6. A price on your identity

If you're in doubt about the value of your credentials, visit www.everyclickmatters.com/victim/assessment.html. Complete the questionnaire and discover what you're worth to a scammer…

7. We've found a virus

Bogus security experts call unsuspecting PC owners claiming they've found a virus on their hard drive. All you need do is pay a fee and they'll remotely remove the nasty.

In reality, the scammers are just working through phone lists, planting the seeds of fear and then collecting bucket loads of cash.

8. Check out Virus Total

If you've received a file and are worried about its provenance, upload it to www.virustotal.com. The site will run the file through a number of virus-scanning engines to find any hidden malware. It'll also send you a handy report document.

9. Stop redundant services

The more software and services you're running, the greater the risk you could be compromised. Be ruthless – delete or deactivate applications and services you don't use. This will reduce the number of ways into your machine that are available to hackers.

10. Be alert and precautions

If you must use file sharing, do so with the utmost paranoia about security. When you've downloaded a file, isolate it and, if possible, execute it from a virtual environment to ensure it's safe before letting it into your true computing environment.

11. Update software

Windows 7 and most major apps are happy to update themselves automatically, but you should still run their update systems manually to ensure they're working. Smaller apps may need updating manually, so check their makers' sites for updates.

12. Enter your own URLs

Never follow links to URLs emailed to you and don't Google your bank's address. Google can be tricked into moving spoof sites up its rankings table by criminals looking to entice people to sites designed to harvest logon details. Enter important URLs yourself.

13. Check site safety

Download McAfee's excellent SiteAdvisor from siteadvisor.com. The browser plug-in has a traffic light system that shows dangerous sites in search results. Following its green, yellow and red site rating icons will help you to avoid compromised web locations.