The San Jose Mercury News recently had a nice collection of tips for safer Internet use. Most are common sense, but it never hurts to review the basics:
- Make sure your operating system’s automatic updates and firewall are turned on.
- Use security programs including anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and subscribe to security updates.
- Run a full system scan at least once a month.
- Don’t open attachments or click on links in e-mails from people you don’t know.
- Use passwords with at least eight characters and numbers and symbols, and change them regularly.
- Access the Internet through a router – it creates an implicit firewall for you, so bots can’t reach your machine directly.
- Don’t use the same password for every account – and use more complex passwords for “important” transactions, such as with your bank.
- Don’t connect to the Internet using a wireless connection without a password.
- Don’t send sensitive information to a Web site that does not begin with “https,” which means it’s secured.
- When you receive an e-mail, think about whether it’s really from the purported sender, rather than an impostor, before taking action.
