ProgramCritiques.info Online Safety Tips Before purchasing a product online, follow some of the safety tips below:

Seven Safety Tips for Safer Computing

Access to information and entertainment, credit and financial services, products from every corner of the world is greater than ever. But the internet and the anonymity it affords also can give online scammers, hackers, and identity thieves access to your computer, personal information, finances, and more.

With awareness as your safety net, you can minimize the chance of an internet mishap. Being on guard online helps you protect your information, your computer, and your money. To be safer and more secure online, make these seven safety tips part of your online routine.

1. Protect your private information.

To an identity thief, your personal information can provide instant access to your financial accounts, your credit record, and other assets. How do criminals get your personal information online? One way is by lying about who they are, to convince you to share your account numbers, passwords, and other information so they can get your money or buy things in your name.

This is something called "phishing": criminals send email, text, or pop-up messages that appear to come from your bank, a government agency, an online seller or another organization with which you do business. The message asks you to click to a website or call a phone number to update your account information or claim a prize or benefit. It might suggest something bad will happen if you don't respond quickly with your personal information.

With regard to shopping online, check to make sure the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser's status bar or a website URL that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure").

Read website privacy policies. They should explain what personal information the website collects, how the information is used, and whether it is provided to third parties. The privacy policy also should tell you whether you have the right to see what information the website has about you and what security measures the company takes to protect your information. If you don't see a privacy policy consider doing business somewhere else.

2. Know who you're dealing with.

And what you're getting into. There are dishonest people in the bricks and mortar world and on the internet. But online, you can't judge an operator's trustworthiness with a gut-affirming look in the eye. It's remarkably simple for online scammers to impersonate a legitimate business, so you need to know who you're dealing with. If you're thinking about shopping on a site with which you're not familiar, do some independent research before you buy.

3. Use security software that updates automatically.

Keep your security software active and current: at a minimum, your computer should have anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall. You can buy stand-alone programs for each element or a security suite that includes these programs from a variety of sources, including commercial vendors or from your Internet Service Provider. Security software that comes pre-installed on a computer generally works for a short time unless you pay a subscription fee to keep it in effect. In any case, security software protects against the newest threats only if it is up-to-date. That's why it is critical to set your security software to update automatically.

A computer may be infected with spyware if it:

* Slows down, malfunctions, or displays repeated error messages
* Won't shut down or restart
* Serves up a lot of pop-up ads, or displays them when you're not surfing the web
* Displays web pages or programs you didn't intend to use, or sends emails you didn't write.

4. Keep your operating system and Web browser current.

Remember, hackers also take advantage of Web browsers (like Internet Explorer of Firefox) and operating system software (like Windows or Mac's OS) that don't have the latest updates. Operating system companies issue security patches for flaws that they find in their systems, so it's important to set your operating system and Web browser software to download and install security patches automatically.

You can also increase your online security by changing the built-in security and privacy settings in your operating system or browser. Check the "Tools" or "Options" menus to learn how to upgrade from the default settings. Use your "Help" function for more information about options.

5. Protect your passwords.

Be sure to keep your passwords in a secure location. Don't share them on the internet, over email, or on the phone. Your Internet Service Provider should also never ask for your password. Also, hackers may try to figure out your passwords to gain access to your computer. To make it more difficult for them:

* Use passwords that have at least eight characters and include numbers or symbols. The longer the password, the tougher it is to crack. A 12-character password is stronger than one with eight characters.
* Avoid common words: some hackers use programs that can try every word in the dictionary.
* Don't use your personal information, your login name, or adjacent keys on the keyboard as passwords.
* Change your passwords regularly (at a minimum, every 90 days).
* Don't use the same password for each online account you access.

6. Back up important files.

If you follow these tips, you're more likely to be free of interference from hackers, viruses, and spammers. But no system is completely secure. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable disc or an external hard drive, and store it in a safe place.

7. Learn what to do in an e-mergency.

If you are concerned that malware is on your computer, stop shopping, banking, and other online activities that involve user names, passwords, or other sensitive information. Malware could be sending your personal information to identity thieves.

Confirm that your security software is up-to-date, then use it to scan your computer. Delete everything the program identifies as a problem.

If the problem persists after you exhaust your ability to diagnose and treat it, you might want to call for professional help. Also, talk about computer safety with anyone else who uses the computer. Tell them that some online activity can put a computer at risk, and share these seven safety tips as well.

For additional tips and infortmation about the tips above go to: http://onguardonline.gov