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Internet Safety

Spoofing ~ Identity Theft ~ Shopping ~ Children's Safety

The Internet is a wonderful, valuable resource, but it is also home to crooks and charlatans!  You need to consider some facts and use your common sense in order to keep from falling victim to their schemes!

General Security
There is a great webpage at http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/index.html from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, that has plainly written, detailed information on many facets of Internet/Computer Security. They also offer free email updates to keep you educated.

Spoofing
Spoofing is the technique that criminals use to make a fake website look like the real thing.  (Or make an email that contains a virus look like it came from you!) These fake websites look like the real thing, but their purpose is to get you to type in your information (account numbers, passwords etc) so that the crooks can steal your money or your identity.  Spoofed websites are also created to trick you into downloading a virus.  One of the ways the crooks get you to this fake website is by sending you an email that has a link in the email to click on (which takes you to the fake website).  To avoid this, type in the address that the institution has given you instead of clicking on the link in the email. If you have any doubts about the validity of the request- verify its authenticity by calling your bank, credit card company or whoever is requesting the information.  I recommend that you notify the bank or company if you find out that you have received one of these fraudulent emails.

Microsoft has a good article titled "Help Safeguard your Personal Information Online" at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/online/site_spoofing.mspx

CoreStreet has created a great little toolbar called a spoofstick that will show you what website you are actually on.  You can read more about it and download this tool at http://www.corestreet.com/spoofstick/

Online Shopping
Online shopping can be as safe as shopping in a regular store, but you need to be aware of some additional dangers.  Visit http://www.safeshopping.org to read detailed articles that will make you a safer shopper.

Identity Theft
It seems like the crooks are coming up with new ways daily to steal your good name and credit history.  Visit http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ for information on what to do if your identity is stolen and how to prevent the problem in the first place.

Children's Safety
Children are often far more advanced in their computer skills than their parents. They are also often too trusting of what they read on their computer screen.  There is software available to block certain types of websites/content.  There is NO SUBSTITUTE for a parent being aware of what your children are doing on the Internet.  Make sure that your computer is in a public area of the house, and check with them on what they are doing online.  Children should be reminded never to give out personal information, and NEVER to agree to meet someone that they have met online without the parents being present. I firmly believe that children can and should be encouraged to be careful without being fearful. Visit the excellent website http://www.safekids.com for lots more tips and ideas to keep your loved ones safe.

Nothing beats an open and honest dialog with children, but you may want to periodically check which web sites they have been visiting. In Internet Explorer if you press and hold the "Ctrl" key and then the letter "H" (or choose View>Explorer Bar>History) a sidebar will pop up showing the recent history for web browsing. You can click on the links to see which websites have been visited recently on your computer.  When you are done click the X in the upper right corner of the History window to close it.

 In Internet Explorer Click Tools > Internet Options. On the Content tab, under Content Advisor, click Enable on the General Tab you can create a password (make sure you record this password in a safe place!) you can adjust the sliders in the various areas to restrict certain types of websites. This is not fool-proof because it depends on a ratings system which can let a lot of things slip through, but it is a start! More from Microsoft about Content Advisor.

To block a particular website from being accessed by your computer: In Internet Explorer Click Tools > Internet Options. Click on the Security Tab and then click the Restricted Sites Button.  Type in the address of the website that you want to stop computer users from going to "badwebsite.com" (but don't type the " " marks!) Then Click the Add button, and click OK to close each of the open windows.

Some Internet Service Providers offer filtering software or services. Check with the folks that you get your service from to see if they can help.

There are filtering/blocking programs that block more websites (similar to Microsoft's Content Advisor), these are discussed at http://www.safekids.com