Protecting Your PC Against Identity Theft

The Internet is a scary place these days and just accessing it can put you at great risk. Identity Theft scams that enter your email disguised as mail from eBay or PayPal aren't your only enemy.

Thieves have been trying to get you via your e-mail for many years and you probably know all about antivirus software and how to check for an authentic site.

If you don't have any antivirus software, you need to get one. I recommend Trend Micro. The updates are automatic and timely plus it catches ALL the nasty viruses quickly.

What you may not know is that many sites are depositing some very nasty spyware onto your computer from your browser and your HTML enabled email. This spyware is beginning to get worse than those viruses. Most viruses are trying to use your computer to generate denial of service (DOS) attacks on companies and web sites they may not like.

Most viruses really leave your computer alone, except for storing code that will used in coordinated DOS attacks.

Spyware, on the hand is out to hijack your passwords, your browser, computer and steal your identity.

Unfortunately, if you use Internet Explorer, Outlook or Outlook Express, flaws in them will still allow these spyware agents to infest your computer.

Unfortunately, there's still another way your computer information can be hijacked. Anyone connecting to the internet is at risk and the most at risk are those with the high speed connections we all covet. Hijackers will call random computer addresses and connect to them via protocol ports that your computer needs to access networks. High speed connects are always on and typical have a static address.

Once they have found an unprotected computer's static address, they can send software to run on your computer without your knowledge. This software can be used for example to record every key stroke you make and send it to them. This makes any encryption you may use or relying on secure sites useless.

In order to protect yourself from these attacks, you need to have a firewall on your computer. A firewall can make your computer invisible to these attackers. Being invisible means that they won't be able to find you and they can't attach to something they can't find. Invisible is a good when it comes to the internet.

In conclusion, I want you to be aware that malicious hackers will continue to find ways around any security you or your operating system may implement. However, know that anything you can do is far better than doing nothing.

Computer Security

Ensure that you have established basic security measures for your computer. If possible, do not store information such as banking data and credit card information on your computer, and if you do, encrypt it. This will ensure that, even if someone does access your computer, they can't access the data. Wilders.org maintains a download site where you can obtain free encryption tools.

Use good passwords.

The failure to use good passwords is one of the most common mistakes that people make . It may be easier to remember a password based on a standard English word, pet name or birthdate, but it also means that they are easier to break. It is important to ensure you follow a few basic guidelines when establishing passwords for all of your computer programs, bank cards, e-mail and dial up accounts.

They are as follows:

Do not use passwords based on standard words found in the dictionary. These are the first words that password breaking programs will attempt and with the ability to try 10's to 1000's of words a minute, it may not take long to figure out.

Using both upper and lower case letters and punctuation/shift keys. It is generally recommended that you keep passwords to a minimum 6-8 characters in length. Try to make the characters random, for example: !s2g4$w3 or $barglr33$

Protect your Passwords.

Once you've actually taken the time and effort to protect your programs and information with good passwords, it would be a good idea to keep those passwords safe from prying eyes and fingers.

Don't write your passwords down, if possible. If you must write them down, do it in such a way that you don't give away what the password actually is or what program it is for. Encode it in a way that you and you alone understand.

Do not store passwords on your computer if you intend to retain any measure of security. Often passwords are stored in simple text files that can easily be accessed by people sitting at your computer, or if someone managed to access your system remotely. If you insist on doing so, you may wish to look at file encryption software, such as the free tools offered on this page at Wilders.org.

Personal Information in Programs

This is specifically relating to those programs that you generally plug your name and other personal information into when setting them up.

Follow the tips in the previous sections for e-mail, newsgroups, browsers, and chat to ensure you have maximum online privacy. Ensure that your name and other identifying information is not shown in the set up areas of any of these programs and that you do not enter personal information into websites requesting it if you have any hesitations.

Don't let web sites force you into entering highly personal information (that would include a birth date, etc..); many privacy advocates suggest making information up if it simply isn't required by the website. (E.g. A website for strictly online activities, such as games or e-mail, demanding a street address and telephone number)

In the United States, be absolutely sure to visit the Federal Trade Commission's site discussing the protection of personal information in relation to DMV's, Credit Bureaus and Direct Marketers. The information on this site is vital.