TID Article #02

Securing your PC and Data from vicious "hackers"
A multi part article

Starting this month, seeing as many of us may be purchasing products on-line, I believe that I should give out a few tips and tricks as well as some history into "hacking" a computer. As more and more people get computers both at work and at home, I think that there is a need for some basic knowledge about how people (read as malicious people) break into computers to steal things like credit card data, Social Security info, personal / professional data, etc. So over the next few issues i will take a look at computer security and "hackers".

First the Tips.

@@ These tips are for everyone:

Before you place your order do a dummy run by just picking a product (anything) and step through to the point where it asks for your Credit Card (CC). At this point look in two places for a sign that the merchant is using an secure transaction protocol. The first is to look at the URL box. It should read "https://" this stands for Hyper Text Transmit ion Protocol Secure. The second place to look is at the bottom of your browser window. There should be a Lock or similar icon. Normally this icon has the surrounding color of the window frame, if you are in a secure site (a site that uses encryption from this point on) this icon will have a different color (varies from red, yellow, green, magenta, purple, etc) that indicates it security encryption type. Do not worry about the type of encryption that is being used by the site, because almost all "serious" e-commerce sites use a "heavy" encryption. If the site is encrypted go ahead a place your real order.

If you think that the site in not reputable, do not send them any information at all.

When sending credit card information, use common sense, they do not need your birthday, or Social security number to confirm your purchase. Some sites ask for a phone number as well as the normal ordering information. In this case give out your work phone (if permissible) instead of your home phone especially if you have an unlisted number. Never give out a cell phone number.

Immediately after stopping shopping for the (day,week,hour,etc.)

@@ These tips apply only to dial-up modem users (aol,prodigy, msn, etc):

When purchasing products on-line, disconnect and reconnect to your ISP between purchases. This will cause your machine to change its IP address, making it harder for a person to follow you around on the internet and collect the personal information needed to "steal" your credit card.

@@ These tips apply only to broadband users (cable modems, DSL, Work(LAN)):

Be sure to use a firewall and / or a proxy server to block any non essential ports. Regularly run a virus scanner to search for Trojans and worms on your PC