Now that the laptop or personal computer has become the most valuable tool in the thief’s arsenal, you have to do everything possible to protect your computer from the many dark alleyways of the Web. Not every virus lurking about your hard drive is in search of your Social Security number, and not every piece of spam you receive is a solicitation from an identity thief. But many of them are, and so you need to do several things as a defense against malicious hacking and cyber theft. The ways which is written below helps you to teach you how to protect your computer from Identity theft:
- If you’re using a wireless connection to access the Internet, make sure it’s secure. Often people choose an insecure one to get a stronger signal. Security is more important than signal strength. Use an encrypted service.
- A well-constructed virus can keep track of every keystroke a person makes, which often includes passwords and credit card numbers. These malevolent programs then send the captured information back to a cyber-thief. Virus protection programs search out and destroy these sneaky bits of code, and they’re a must to have. But the antivirus software has to know what it’s looking for. For this reason, it’s vital to update your virus protection regularly.
- Despite its many useful capabilities, Windows contains several well-known security loopholes that hackers often exploit for their own gain. Fortunately, Microsoft is always working to come up with security patches to stop hackers and thieves. Install the vendor-supplied software patches as quickly as they arrive. When you venture out for a stroll in cyberspace.
- You use your Internet browser as your front door. Many people often overlook the fact that there are thousands of other doors, windows, and ventilation shafts—technically called ports—through which your computer can be accessed. If you leave any of those ports open, you’re begging cyber thieves to come in and pirate information.
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- Install an adequate firewall to lock these extra doors and windows. Suppose you’re surfing the Internet, and a window pops up. You don’t really read it, but you click yes to make it go away. Congratulations! You just downloaded a program. It may, of course, be a friendly, harmless program. Then again it may also be a mean, sneaky program that changes your firewall settings and snoops around your computer for proprietary information.
- Many of these programs, commonly known as spyware, perform useful functions while also doing less desirable things just under your radar. The point is that you really don’t know what these transparent programs are doing. Once you invite a spyware program onto your computer, however, it can do just about anything, and its movements can be very hard to detect. The solution? Click no instead of yes. Your Internet browser, if properly configured, will ask you if you want to accept a download, so read those boring grey boxes carefully and choose your downloads wisely.
- Be wary of clicking yes to download free contests, particularly at porn, gambling, music, or game sites. Assume that any e-mail that asks you for your personal information is a fraud. If you’ve downloaded a lot of free software and can’t seem to make it go away, you may want to invest in spy-killer or ad-killer software, which is designed to find and delete most known spyware applications. Rather than click on links, it’s always best to type in an Internet address from scratch. Double check and triple-check that you typed it correctly.
- When you happen on a false or questionable Web address, tell the real bank or company about it. Customer notifications are one of the principal ways that real institutions unmask copycat sites so that they can take the necessary steps to shut them down. At the same time, if you’ve got good reason to think a site is fraudulent, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Who’s the most likely member of your family to download free software—namely, music and the latest bizarre games—and infect your computer with spyware and Trojan horses? Your child. You can try to teach your kids to show restraint, but you’ll have more success and less aggravation if you have them use a separate computer, not the one you use to do online banking and store your financial records.
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