Internet Security

The Basics Of Internet Security

Besides not corresponding with convicts imprisoned for violent crimes, what are some other precautions you should take to protect your physical security and safety when you use the Internet?

• Use your primary e-mail account only for your close circle of trusted friends, relatives or colleagues. A simple search for your Internet service provider or business can trace you to a geographical area, and from there it is an easy matter for someone to find you through the telephone listings.

• Use another e-mail account, such as the many free ones available, for online activities such as chats or newsgroups.

• Choose a gender-neutral and non-provocative name for your online socializing. Don’t identify yourself as a woman, because more than 90 per cent of cyberstalking victims are women.

• Don’t fill in the personal information profiles for e-mail, chat and messaging accounts.

• Use filters to block unwanted e-mail and instant messages. Do not open creepy-looking e-mail and do not open unexpected attachments. At the least, your computer data could be damaged by a virus.

• Be careful what websites you visit. Even a quick peek at offensive material can bring nasty e-mails to your desk.

• If you are harassed or threatened online, take the situation seriously. Online arguments have escalated into physical confrontations. Most cyberstalking cases involve strangers who first connected online. Report the problem to the system administrator at your Internet service provider and that of the person who is bothering you. Contact the police if the harassment continues and you have concerns about your physical safety, as in the case of a stalker who seems to know where you live.

• Don’t keep personal information such as PIN numbers, your home address or security codes on your computer where a hacker, burglar or co-worker can find it. If you use a laptop, think what could happen to the information on it if someone picked it up at an airport or from a taxicab.

• Search for yourself on the Internet to see what others can find out about you. Start with a metasearch tool such as Dogpile.com. Also look on people-finding Web pages such as 411.com. Besides finding a bunch of people with the same name as you, you may learn how easy it is to track you down.

Computers, cell phones and other electronic communications devices are not necessarily private. Embarrassing e-mail messages have wrecked careers. So have careless cell phone conversations. To be on the safe side, assume you are not anonymous when communicating electronically. Think about the consequences if someone else — your employer, a member of the news media or a criminal — were to listen in. And take care with security devices such as identification badges, lock cards and old-fashioned keys so they will not be borrowed, stolen or copied.

Many beautiful friendships have started online and blossomed in person. But think twice before arranging to see someone you have met online, even through your work.