10 Tips for Protecting Your Personal Data

Owning a computer and having access to the internet is a very good thing. It can also be hazardous to your privacy in ways you are not aware of. Because we keep so much personal data on our computers, it is not hard for a hacker with a lot of determination to access that data and cause you a world of problems.  Even with sophisticated security programs, you are at risk whenever you access the web. There is also the threat of security over network connections, and safeguarding these should be a top priority. Here are ten ways to protect your privacy, including personal data and identity.

Your Personal Data

Credit card numbers, banking information, home addresses and a lot of other sensitive data are typically stored on the home PC. People often see identity theft as someone stealing their wallet or pocketbook, or unscrupulous desk clerks at hotels scamming their information from an entry card. Actually, it is the computer that is the biggest offender. Let’s look at ten different ways that a determined thief can steal your identify.

1. A computer that is hooked to a DSL internet connection that is always open and connected to the internet is just waiting for a hacker to break into and steal your private data. When you are finished with your internet connect, close it, log off.   If your business needs to keep an internet connection open, there are many free firewall programs, available at such places at http://download.com and http://shareware.com to help protect your information from hackers.

2. Always use secure sites when making any internet purchases. You can determine this by checking two things - the address bar on your web browser, and an identity icon that must appear in the form of a padlock in the task bar. A secure site will begin with the prefix “https” to alert you to a secure site, and the padlock in the task bar will be in the closed, in the locked position.

3. Never give out any information to any site unless you absolutely must for a secure transaction. Suspect any site that asks for personal information when it is not necessarily needed for using the site.

4. Always keep a “throw away” email address to do business with any site or individual that you do not absolutely trust. This protects you from spammers, who harvest email addresses from the web. 

5. Never reveal any information to people who you meet on forums or in chat rooms unless you are absolutely sure you can trust them. Don’t put personal information on a public home page.

6. Always reject unnecessary cookies. Cookies are a necessary evil for some site which you do business with or are taking such things as training from, but do not allow other sites to set cookies on your hard drive. Use the privacy section of the web browser options to set cookie security to a high level.

7. Always be sure to read any privacy policy on any website you do business with, and be sure you agree with their policies. If you don’t, move on.

8. Educate your children. Insure that they never give out personal information online, such as name and phone number, or home address. A law was passed in 1998 requiring companies to gain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13 years old.  Give each child their own personal sign-on and restrict where they can & can’t go on the web with security controls in your computer.

9. Use an encryption method to send and receive email. Email can easily be rerouted and read by unintended persons. Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger and Mozilla thunderbird use encryption, as should your internet provider. You can download Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), a popular encryption software, free for non-commercial use.

10. Never reply to spammers, for any reason. Also, never reply to the message asking to be removed from their list. All this does is confirm that you have a legitimate email, opening yourself up to even more attacks.  In some email clients you can “bounce” the email back to the sender so it appears as though your email is not good.

The ultimate in computer security would be to have two computers - one that connects to the internet and contains no personal data, and a second computer that has no internet access to use for personal data. Although this may sound extreme, it is the only real way to know that your computer is safe from prying eyes on the internet. Consider using a hub that allows you to use the same monitor and keyboard for both computers.  Better safe than sorry.