We wish the Internet were a safe place in which to play and purchase, but that is simply not the case. The Internet is filled with crooks and creeps trying to steal your personal information; destroy your PC; or use your PC, without your knowledge, to harm others.
1. Use anti-virus software: Have a reliable anti-virus software program installed on your PC that scans all emails and tries to prevent websites from dumping viruses onto your PC. Run a thorough scan of your disk drives weekly. There are several very good free anti-virus software programs available.
2. Use McAfee’s free SiteAdvisor software: SiteAdvisor can be downloaded free from McAfee's website. McAfee has tested millions of websites to see which are clean and which are not. With SiteAdvisor installed, the program will place a green, yellow, or red icon next to each website listed on your keyword search results screen. Only click on the green ones and ignore the others.
3. Guard your email address: Treat it like your social security number. I'm constantly being asked for my email address from people who do not need it (this morning the animal hospital asked me for it!). When shopping, use an Internet email address (see below). Also, when shopping read the company’s Privacy Policy. If there isn’t one, or if they admit to selling your personal information, don’t buy from them.
4. Have an Internet-only email address for shopping: Have one email address dedicated to friends and family who are security-minded, and have a separate, “disposable” email address (yahoo, gmail) for shopping and other Internet activities (these email addresses are free). If you get spam on the yahoo or gmail address, you can just delete the address and create a new one.
5. Use Bcc: when forwarding emails and tell your friends to do the same: When you forward an email to all of your friends, you’re broadcasting their email addresses to strangers! Click forward, enter your email address in the To: area and list everyone elses's under Bcc:. After clicking Forward, in Yahoo, click "Show bcc" which is underneath the From line. In Google, click Add Bcc.
6. Choose email addresses and passwords that aren't guessable: Spammers have programs that send out millions of emails at lightning speed to “guessed” email addresses. Put some numbers or special symbols in your addresses and passwords.
7. Never open an email from a stranger: Many spam emails contain viruses and other malware in the actual email itself - not in an attachment!
8. Never reply to a spam email and never click on a link in a spam email: If you do open a spam email, don’t reply to it and don’t fall for the “click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list” scam. It’s a trick to get you to validate your email address. And never click on any link in an email from a stranger.
9. Be careful opening any email attachments: Opening an email attachment from a stranger is a guaranteed infection. But what if the email attachment comes from a friend? The rule of thumb is: don’t open it unless you’re expecting it, or it is very personalized, I.e. JasonBirthday.jpg (and your friend’s son just had a birthday). Used common sense. Don’t open any attachment with innocuous sounding names like “havefun.exe.” Delete the email immediately. Restrain your curiosity.
10. Don’t fall for phishing emails: Banks and other financial institutions don’t send out emails requesting personal information. Never open an email from a financial institution unless it’s a reply to an email you sent them. These are Phishing emails from crooks trying to steal your identity. They send an email requesting personal information or your account will be frozen. The email probably contains a link to their website - which looks just like the bank's website. If your financial institution wants to contact you, they will send you a letter!
11. Surf smart: Don’t click on pop-up ads. Don’t say ‘yes’ when a website wants you to download some cute thing. Don’t sign up for free stuff … usually the purpose of the offer or contest is to get your email address. Don’t register on a site unless you’ve thoroughly checked it out; see what others say about the website. Make sure the website’s privacy policy ensures your privacy. And last, but not least, remember the #1 rule of Internet browsing: the more questionable the website, the more likely you will get infected.
12. Only download software from reputable sites: Only download software from websites that have a reputation of thoroughly checking each application for spyware or malware. See my separate document titled Great Free Software for a list of reputable sites - www.download.com is probably the most popular. Read editors’ reviews and user reviews. Be aware that songs and other files downloaded from peer-to-peer programs like Bearshare or Limewire can be infected.
13. Scan all downloaded files before opening: Have a designated folder for all downloads. There is a setting in your browser where you can specify where you want downloaded files to be placed. Before opening any downloaded file, scan the file or folder with your anti-virus software and an anti-spyware program. On many systems, all you have to do is right-click on the file and click the option to scan with your anti-virus software. On my PC, AVG Anti-Spyware shows up on my right-click menu.
14. Spoof your email address: Try to avoid newsrooms and forums that don’t let you mask your email address. If you have to use the website, then spoof it. Instead of typing bwilson@xyz.com, type bwilson at xyz.com.
15. Set up message filters in your mail program: Most email programs like Outlook, Thunderbird, etc., can be setup to filter incoming emails. You can create rules that will delete emails that don’t specifically include your email address in the To: or Cc: fields. You can also create rules to block emails with certain undesireable words in the Subject Line.
16. Use an anti-spam program: If spam has become a problem and you can’t change your email address and start anew, use anti-spam software which filters junk email out of your inbox and puts it into a special spam folder. Your ISP may have this function available for you.
17. If you have your own website, don’t post your email address on it in text: Email scanners look at websites for email addresses. If you need to post your email address, put it in a graphic image (.gif or .jpg) or encrypt it in some way. Some folks use contact forms, but scammers regularly use these forms to send out spam.
18. If you own a website, pay to have your Domain Name Registration information “unlisted”: It's a legal requirement that all domain names have valid contact information posted on the Internet and you can view this contact information on websites such as www.whois.com. Spammers regularly visit the “whois” database to harvest email addresses. Make sure the web hosting company gives you the option to pay to have your information unlisted. What shows up instead for your domain is the contact information for your web hosting company.
2. Use McAfee’s free SiteAdvisor software: SiteAdvisor can be downloaded free from McAfee's website. McAfee has tested millions of websites to see which are clean and which are not. With SiteAdvisor installed, the program will place a green, yellow, or red icon next to each website listed on your keyword search results screen. Only click on the green ones and ignore the others.
3. Guard your email address: Treat it like your social security number. I'm constantly being asked for my email address from people who do not need it (this morning the animal hospital asked me for it!). When shopping, use an Internet email address (see below). Also, when shopping read the company’s Privacy Policy. If there isn’t one, or if they admit to selling your personal information, don’t buy from them.
4. Have an Internet-only email address for shopping: Have one email address dedicated to friends and family who are security-minded, and have a separate, “disposable” email address (yahoo, gmail) for shopping and other Internet activities (these email addresses are free). If you get spam on the yahoo or gmail address, you can just delete the address and create a new one.
5. Use Bcc: when forwarding emails and tell your friends to do the same: When you forward an email to all of your friends, you’re broadcasting their email addresses to strangers! Click forward, enter your email address in the To: area and list everyone elses's under Bcc:. After clicking Forward, in Yahoo, click "Show bcc" which is underneath the From line. In Google, click Add Bcc.
6. Choose email addresses and passwords that aren't guessable: Spammers have programs that send out millions of emails at lightning speed to “guessed” email addresses. Put some numbers or special symbols in your addresses and passwords.
7. Never open an email from a stranger: Many spam emails contain viruses and other malware in the actual email itself - not in an attachment!
8. Never reply to a spam email and never click on a link in a spam email: If you do open a spam email, don’t reply to it and don’t fall for the “click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list” scam. It’s a trick to get you to validate your email address. And never click on any link in an email from a stranger.
9. Be careful opening any email attachments: Opening an email attachment from a stranger is a guaranteed infection. But what if the email attachment comes from a friend? The rule of thumb is: don’t open it unless you’re expecting it, or it is very personalized, I.e. JasonBirthday.jpg (and your friend’s son just had a birthday). Used common sense. Don’t open any attachment with innocuous sounding names like “havefun.exe.” Delete the email immediately. Restrain your curiosity.
10. Don’t fall for phishing emails: Banks and other financial institutions don’t send out emails requesting personal information. Never open an email from a financial institution unless it’s a reply to an email you sent them. These are Phishing emails from crooks trying to steal your identity. They send an email requesting personal information or your account will be frozen. The email probably contains a link to their website - which looks just like the bank's website. If your financial institution wants to contact you, they will send you a letter!
11. Surf smart: Don’t click on pop-up ads. Don’t say ‘yes’ when a website wants you to download some cute thing. Don’t sign up for free stuff … usually the purpose of the offer or contest is to get your email address. Don’t register on a site unless you’ve thoroughly checked it out; see what others say about the website. Make sure the website’s privacy policy ensures your privacy. And last, but not least, remember the #1 rule of Internet browsing: the more questionable the website, the more likely you will get infected.
12. Only download software from reputable sites: Only download software from websites that have a reputation of thoroughly checking each application for spyware or malware. See my separate document titled Great Free Software for a list of reputable sites - www.download.com is probably the most popular. Read editors’ reviews and user reviews. Be aware that songs and other files downloaded from peer-to-peer programs like Bearshare or Limewire can be infected.
13. Scan all downloaded files before opening: Have a designated folder for all downloads. There is a setting in your browser where you can specify where you want downloaded files to be placed. Before opening any downloaded file, scan the file or folder with your anti-virus software and an anti-spyware program. On many systems, all you have to do is right-click on the file and click the option to scan with your anti-virus software. On my PC, AVG Anti-Spyware shows up on my right-click menu.
14. Spoof your email address: Try to avoid newsrooms and forums that don’t let you mask your email address. If you have to use the website, then spoof it. Instead of typing bwilson@xyz.com, type bwilson at xyz.com.
15. Set up message filters in your mail program: Most email programs like Outlook, Thunderbird, etc., can be setup to filter incoming emails. You can create rules that will delete emails that don’t specifically include your email address in the To: or Cc: fields. You can also create rules to block emails with certain undesireable words in the Subject Line.
16. Use an anti-spam program: If spam has become a problem and you can’t change your email address and start anew, use anti-spam software which filters junk email out of your inbox and puts it into a special spam folder. Your ISP may have this function available for you.
17. If you have your own website, don’t post your email address on it in text: Email scanners look at websites for email addresses. If you need to post your email address, put it in a graphic image (.gif or .jpg) or encrypt it in some way. Some folks use contact forms, but scammers regularly use these forms to send out spam.
18. If you own a website, pay to have your Domain Name Registration information “unlisted”: It's a legal requirement that all domain names have valid contact information posted on the Internet and you can view this contact information on websites such as www.whois.com. Spammers regularly visit the “whois” database to harvest email addresses. Make sure the web hosting company gives you the option to pay to have your information unlisted. What shows up instead for your domain is the contact information for your web hosting company.
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