How to Stay Safe Online from Identity Theft

In the Internet age, hackers are becoming more and savvier in manipulating the Internet to obtain information from users. This might make you very scared to do any business online at all, but there are measures to you can take to make your surfing safe.

Virus protection software should be updated regularly, and patches for your operating system and other software programs should be installed to protect against intrusions and infections that can lead to the compromise of your computer files or passwords.

Ideally, virus protection software should be set to automatically update each week. The Windows XP operating system also can be set to automatically check for patches and download them to your computer.

Do not open files sent to you by strangers, or click on hyperlinks or download programs from people you don't know. Be careful about using file-sharing programs. Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a program known as "spyware," which could capture your passwords or any other information as you type it into your keyboard.

Be very careful, as some e-mails from companies like Pay Pal are very real looking and could bait you into opening them by thinking they are legit. A good rule of thumb with e-mails like these is to never, ever click on a link in the e-mail. If you do, you’ll be prompted to enter in your information and then the thief will have it.

You should forward any suspicious e-mails like these to the company’s spoof department. Usually, the address is spoof@(company name).com. For example, spoof@paypal.com. They will usually respond back to you if the e-mail was legitimate or if it was a phisher that sent it.

Use a firewall program, especially if you use a high-speed Internet connection like cable, DSL or T-1 that leaves your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. The firewall program will allow you to stop uninvited access to your computer. Without it, hackers can take over your computer, access the personal information stored on it, or use it to commit other crimes.

Use a secure browser - software that encrypts or scrambles information you send over the Internet -to guard your online transactions. Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from the manufacturer.

You also can download some browsers for free over the Internet. When submitting information, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar to be sure your information is secure during transmission. This will appear when you are submitting information over a secure site which will protect your information.

Also look in the web browser’s address bar. Most web addresses start with “http://”. If it is a secure site, the address will be “https://”

Try not to store financial information on your laptop unless absolutely necessary. If you do, use a strong password a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. A good way to create a strong password is to think of a memorable phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password, converting some letters into numbers that resemble letters. For example, "I love Felix; he's a good cat," would become 1LFHA6c.

Don't use an automatic log-in feature that saves your user name and password, and always log off when you're finished. That way, if your laptop is stolen, it's harder for a thief to access your personal information.

Before you dispose of a computer, delete all the personal information it stored. Deleting files using the keyboard or mouse commands or reformatting your hard drive may not be enough because the files may stay on the computer's hard drive, where they may be retrieved easily. Use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive.

Look for website privacy policies. They should answer questions about maintaining accuracy, access, security, and control of personal information collected by the site, how the information will be used, and whether it will be provided to third parties. If you don't see a privacy policy or you can't understand it consider doing business on another site.

There is serious concern that identity theft, and more importantly the fear of it, will stop consumers enjoying the benefits of the online world. But there's no reason why it should; the vast majority of websites have good security and criminals make up a tiny fraction of the online community.

But that doesn't mean we can be complacent. Fraud thrives when people forget what they should be doing and many of these scams are easy to see through. There's no need for paranoia but maintain a watchful eye and if in doubt, check it out.

Just like in person, you can’t guarantee protection from identity theft online, but by adhering to these suggestions, you should have little problem surfing with peace of mind.

There are some companies out there making offers to help protect you from identity theft. Are they legitimate?

Next article: Third Party Protection Plans Against Identity Theft

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