8) How do I protect myself when I’m online?

From Wikipedia to Amazon.com to Facebook to YouTube, the Internet delivers information, commerce, social interaction, and cute animal videos on an unprecedented level. Unfortunately, it also delivers cyber headaches as web surfers often fall victim to phishing schemes, online hackers, and identity thieves.

“The most important thing to do is keep your security software updated,” says Assistant Professor Ziqian Dong, Ph.D., of NYIT’s School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. “Thousands of viruses are created on a daily basis.”

These viruses and other forms of malicious programming show no signs of slowing down or reducing their criminal effectiveness. According to Symantec’s Internet Threat Security Report published in April 2012, in 2011 there were 403 million new variants of malware created and 232.4 million identities exposed.

Numerous companies offer antivirus and other security suites for operating systems, though Dong points out that users should be wary about downloading software offering “free” help.

“If it’s sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” she says. “You may download a Trojan horse virus by clicking on a link for free software.” Security suites you can purchase from companies such as Symantec, MacAfee, and Bitdefender are your best options.

Dong suggests also securing your home wi-fi with WPA or WEP encryption. This will prevent strangers from piggybacking onto your Internet service without your knowledge. In addition, be sure to change the username and password on your router. “Lots of people just keep the default settings,” says Dong. “If your username is ‘admin,’ change it.”

With social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, she cautions that you avoid putting too much personal information on view to the public. Posting your vacation photos while still on vacation, for example, is a great way to announce to burglars that your home is unoccupied.

“Criminals are always looking for information,” says Dong. “And these sites are open to everybody.”

If you’re into online shopping, make sure you use sites that contain “https” in their addresses, which indicates a secure connection. Also look for a security certificate once you log into a secure site and make sure it is up to date.

Finally, avoid phishing schemes by ignoring links in your emails … even from friends. Dong cites one trick in which hackers break into a person’s email and then send messages to friends containing links to phishing sites. Because the emails are from a personal acquaintance, the recipient often doesn’t think twice about clicking the link, unleashing malicious code into their computers or mobile devices.

Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Next

More Features

Vol. 10 No. 3 Table of Contents