Internet Problems (Part 4)

"I won't use my credit card on the Internet."   How many times have you heard someone say that?

Identify theft can take place without you ever being on a computer.  Your cable company or phone company representative, for example, has more than enough information about you to steal your identity.  And the trash man probably carries enough information away each week to steal your identity.  Investing in a paper shredder is an excellent way to reduce the likelihood of identity theft in the non-cyberworld.

If you would rather not shop online, consider this:

Purchasing some items online, such as airline tickets, is cheaper because (in geek or robotic talk) it doesn't require interaction with a carbon-based-unit, just the silicon-based-unit on your desktop to the silicon-based-server at the other end.  Ebay.com and Amazon.com provide many bargains that you cannot expect to get at your friendly neighborhood superstore.  The marketplace of the NOW is online.

Identity theft is due to someone getting your SSN, birth date, bank account number, or other pieces of essential information about you.  Getting your online password will not compromise your security enough to steal your identity although it could subject you to additional charges from your ISP.

Identity theft is rarely due to using your credit card on the Internet at a secure site. A secure site has HTTPS:// in the address bar and is a reputable company.  Identity theft often comes from responding to a phishing Email (see previous newsletter).  It comes from saving emails and documents on your computer that are best not saved.  It comes by not having a firewall and virus and malicious URL filter.

Let’s look at the methods that are used to illicitly obtain information from you.

1. You can be infected with spyware or a worm from an email.
2. You click on a shortcut provided in an email that takes you to a webpage asking for personal information and/or passwords.
3. You visit a website that installs (with or without your permission) a program, or macro that sends information to a malicious individual.
4. You respond to spam email

Infection with spyware or a worm:  The best way to prevent this is by investing in a good quality anti-virus program from a reputable company and updating the virus definitions frequently.  Free software is worth just what it costs and may spread the very problem you are trying to prevent.  Software provided by your ISP is reliable.  AOL, Earthlink, TimeWarner are now providing good software both for anti-virus and firewalls at no ADDITIONAL cost.

Clicking on a shortcut:  NEVER click on a shortcut in an email that looks like it is from a bank, credit card company or any other company.  These are the most prevalent identity theft culprits on the Internet.  If you have an online account with the bank, they will provide you with a URL to type in the address bar yourself and you can use it to bookmark or place in My Favorite Places.  That is the only safe way to do it.

Visiting dangerous websites:   Recent incarnations of Internet Security Products from AOL, Norton (Symantec), Computer Associates and McAfee have lists of sites that are not safe to visit.  They block or at least notify you before you go to a site that is not safe.  If you update these products regularly, you are less likely to have a problem with spyware, adware and malicious URLs.

Responding to spam emails:  Don't even think of replying to a spam email.  That will just confirm the address as real and even more unwanted email will result. I have an email inbox that is testament to the problem.  I visited a sex-site over eight years ago for a client to get the URL to allow him to pay for his 'voyeurism'.  I made the mistake of giving a real email address, 'nuf said?'  Even though I made that mistake only once, that address (I don't use it anymore) still receives over 75 sex spam emails a day.

 Information about you is stored in a myriad of locations.  Information databases never die, they just change hands.  Once the information is there, it stays.  Even AOL recently had a problem with their clients' information being leaked to people with less than honorable intentions.

The bottom line: If you have good virus protection, a decent firewall and you don't respond to bad emails, you are less likely to suffer from identity theft from the Internet than you are from a dishonest salesclerk, a shady waitress or a telephone clerk at a local utility.