Computer Virus Preys on Social Networkers
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The internet indeed is a convenient tool for us to participate in online discussions, do banking, shopping, do our businesses, communicate with our colleagues and in keeping in touch with family and friends but one downside of it is the lack of privacy.
The need to protect your privacy online has become increasing as many unscrupulous individuals also take advantage of the convenience of the internet to prey on other people’s businesses. When you do activities online, your IP address can be seen and your location can be traced. Whether you are joining an online community, posting a comment to web articles or blog posts, participating in forums and joining in social networking sites, you sometimes leave a trace for you to be traced back.
Most of these activities on the internet request you to register with your email address and allow you to create profiles that will list information about you. Although sometimes you may be unmindful of giving out too much information, these can however aid online perpetrators and criminals to make you an easy prey. Here are some tips to help you protect your privacy online and surf the web safer.
- Do not disclose too much personal information. Social networking sites nowadays are very popular but you have to be responsible enough to make sure you are not making your life too open for internet viewers. Sometimes you may be unmindful of what information you should not share, but keep in mind that protecting your privacy starts from you. Do not give out your phone numbers carelessly online, and of course, there is no need to let all the people know about your exact home address. These are information that makes you vulnerable to identity theft, fraud and other crimes.
- Know whom you are sharing information online. Although this is one very difficult thing to do online, some sites like social networking sites where you most often share personal information allows you to control your settings on who can access your personal information. It is also important to not just befriend anyone online. For sure, you will never know who you are dealing with on the internet, so to protect your privacy online, make sure you think first before sharing and making friends online.
- Manage your cookies. Cookies are used to store some information when you visit websites. One thing that it can do is to save your username and password so you won’t be typing them when you visit the site the next time. It can also help websites track what you are browsing, time and date of visit as well as ads you clicked. Although they are not meant to harm your privacy, it can however be used by online criminals to get into your personal information. To help you protect your privacy online, you can however manage cookies by individually allowing or disabling them. Of course, you have to use good judgment too whether the site is trusted or not. You can also regularly delete cookies in your computer to avoid unwanted cookies.
Be sure to find ways to protect your privacy online. Being paranoid about safety especially when it comes to online activities can most often pay off in the end.
Carolyn Anderson loves to share tips to help protect yourself online. For a good tool to get privacy online, check out Evidence Blaster. Also check out PC Booster, a tool to help your PC run fast and efficiently.
This post was written by: Erin
Tags: anti-virus, computer virus, computer virus protection, computer worm, facebook worm, koobface