[BINNY]

HI

The PC revolution and the Internet boom all over the world have
introduced new elements to cyber crime. Elements that make cyber crime
one of the most dangerous issues facing modern society. Children and
innocent netizens are now being subject to unprecedented barrage of
innovative cyber attacks.




For example, rising number of 'phishing' attacks have emerged as a
new, big threat of cyber security. According to Anti-Phishing Working
Group statistics, approximately 5 per cent of users fall prey to
Phishing scams. Spam, viruses, worms and other malicious code account
for global losses of several billion dollars





These simple 10 steps could cover people against more than 80 per cent of all causes of information security breaches:





1. Install the latest anti-virus
software on your computer and never ever turn it (anti-virus) off,
install a personal firewall and spyware checker .


2. Never download or open attachments,
whose source you are not certain about. Even if the source is trusted,
see if the content is relevant, if not, don't open attachment. Create
another E-mail ID which you use exclusively for subscription to sites.
That will prevent spam from coming to your main ID. Some accounts like
Yahoo! allow you to create topic-specific E-mail IDs that you can
delink.





3. Avoid checking mail or using credit
card details online in cyber cafes. It's next to impossible to be sure
that it's safe. Even reputed cafes such as those in international
airports and 5-star hotels have known to be key-logged. Matter of fact,
open an additional debit card with a limit if you do want to transact
online. In a worst case scenario your damage is limited.





4. Do not give away your residence or
cell number. Be especially careful when you are filling in contest
forms, coupons, free gift vouchers. More often than not, these are
gimmicks to obtain your personal details. Don't believe it when they
say the data will not be given to others - it most certainly will be.
Don't print these numbers on your visiting card.





5. Get into the habit of destroying
documentation regarding credit cards, such as receipts, bills, invoices
or any documents that contain personal details.





6. If you are using broadband or
working from home, ensure that your PC is hardened professionally. You
can do this yourself if you follow the next step.





7. Information is a reality of modern
life. Just like health or transport or communication is. Point is, you
need to know something about it, even if it's just some basics. Read
about information security breaches by subscribing to some newsletters.
In case of many breaches, the only defence is knowledge. For instance,
no technology could have prevented the phishing attack (wherein victims
got mails seemingly from legitimate banks asking them to confirm their
passwords and IDs)





8. Use two different passwords. One
for mail, work and other important access and the other for routine
proposes such as subscribing to sites. But remember to switch between
them when you start doing transactions after mere browsing.





9. Create a difficult to guess password by taking the first alphabet from each word of a phrase.


For instance a password like 1at*eomc is constructed using a phrase "I
am the star employee of my company".


10. Educate your children about the
dangers of cyber crime. Children with their unbound curiosity and
unmonitored access are the single most common victims of cyber crime
apart from the enterprises. Ensure that the home PC is kept in a common
place so that you can monitor what is going on.





If you follow the above steps you can avoid the most common security breaches which is very dangerous for you personal life.





Any comments are most welcome . [img]smileys/smiley17.gif[/img]

[meera]

Thanx for providing useful info Binny.