Online Protection. Protect Yourself!

Annika's Work From Home Protection Suggestions

Sadly most of these tips and lessons were learned the hard way from friends to family. Some learned in chat, some learned from books. If you have any tips not added, please feel free to email them in to help others you will be credited for your tip. Thank you.

This page is very old, but many find it useful so I have kept it for that reason.

I have come to see that no matter what you do if you connect to the internet in any way.. there are always ways for others to do damage. There is nothing out there that will stop someone who wants what you have. Or who wants to cause you harm. No one can stop everyone, from even lying. For example.. I know of three people who have lied about their sex. Pretending to be something or someone they are not.

Also, anything you store on a computer can be lost. A hard drive can fail, and can also not be accessible. With all this in mind, think twice, please. Before you become a victim.

1. Never use your real last name for strangers, email addresses, messenger names, etc.

2. Never post your real home email address. By this I mean let's say your internet is AOL you wouldn't want to use that email address for anything online. Keep it private! (unless you enjoy spam) This includes posting your mailing address on Facebook for the whole world to see instead of just filling in the form. I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed this.

3. If for some reason you have or want to give your real home address out, use a P.O. Box.

4. Get a free email account, for example, Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail.

5. Have a backup free email account no one knows of.

6. Never sign a guest book with your real home email address. (Once again unless you enjoy spam.)

7. When you sign up for SKYPE or ICQ use the backup free account. (Unless you WANT people to find your real name.)

8. When people ask where your from give an about, IE pick the largest city in your state.

9. Remember that not everyone tells the truth online.

10. Get yourself a firewall, a good one!

11. Get a virus protector and for God's sake people, update it!

12. Don't open Exe's, PDFs, Docs, or screen savers from strangers.

13. Don't open Exe's from friends till you update your virus protector again. (Unless not on windows.)

14. Never transfer Exe's on IRC.

15. Don't use birthdays, anniversaries as passwords.

16. Like Fox Mulder said, "Trust no one."

17. Never give out your passwords.

18. Check things out thoroughly before installing them.

19. Never tell anyone what you're running on your system.

20. Never brag! About anything, you're asking for it then.

21. Chain letters and Porn can cause your email accounts to be closed.

22. Don't give the name of your school to anyone if you're under 18.

23. If someone keeps making remarks like "can't wait till your 18" or something like that and often, keep an eye out.

24. If you call someone off the net and are in the states, use *67 on the phone before calling as it will block caller ID. USA only!

25. If you give someone your number but not last name or the other way around you can still be traced... even if your number is unlisted.

26. Never give out your social security number. (Or use it as a password!)

27. Make sure the virus protector is turned on.

28. Anything labeled Joke.exe is a virus. Don't even bother opening it. Delete it right away.

29. Don't respond to unsolicited messages (even if it looks official) requesting your credit card info passwords or other personal info.

30. Set up Google Alerts which is free and a way to keep track of your information if posted online anywhere.

31. Consider using the RSACi ratings/parental Control feature to ensure you're viewing just what you want to view.

32. Don't use the same password for everything.

33. Make sure to change passwords often.

34. Make sure you recall your passwords.

35. Make sure to set up a recovery email address or phone number and make sure you have access to those so you can request any passwords or regain access to your accounts of hacked.

36. Install a Spyware blocker.

37.  You wouldn't let your children have access to an adult TV channel, yet the internet contains much worse material (and I'm afraid most of it can be found for free!)

38. Delete cookies, and history often.

39. Don't forward virus warnings and other things to all your contacts, they're usually hoaxes. Check http://www.snopes.com first! (Thanks to Scott)

40. Don't have a secret question that the answer is commonplace. IE 'what's your favorite pet's name?' Most likely if you have a webpage the answer is on it.

41. Remember family members know intimate details that enable them to hack you. So don't try to be funny using common things only THEY know.

42. Don't download anything which isn't from a reputable supplier.

43. Regularly check your machine for software that you don't recognize or didn't install.

44. Don't stay friends with anyone who blames you for their mistakes. That means they are a narcissist. One of the most dangerous types of people in the world! They prey on people!

45. Don't trust every windows update. You may want to set them to alert you but not download. That way you can check them out to make sure they are okay. The same applies with mobile phones.  Don't be quick to upgrade to a newer OS, or update an app that works perfectly fine.

46. Don't use any sexual content in your email address, or use your birthday, mailing address numbers or usernames.

       
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