CYBERSAFETY
Whether you are a geek or a newbie, a schooler or a senior, never truly believe anything or anyone you encounter on the Internet.
'SpongeBob' may say he's eight years old and lives in Des Moines but might actually be a forty seven year old predator who lives two blocks away. You might be sure 'Gladys' is the girl you went to P.S. 89 with, but it is actually a nineteen year old scammer who has done a Zabasearch, read the message you left, and using Google Earth knows that area of Brooklyn better than you do.
Most people are aware they didn't win the Jamaican Lottery, haven't gotten One Million dollars from the Nigerian treasury, or have been chosen to receive a free Ipad.
Most people. Not everyone.
That is why the scams still work.
'SpongeBob' may say he's eight years old and lives in Des Moines but might actually be a forty seven year old predator who lives two blocks away. You might be sure 'Gladys' is the girl you went to P.S. 89 with, but it is actually a nineteen year old scammer who has done a Zabasearch, read the message you left, and using Google Earth knows that area of Brooklyn better than you do.
Most people are aware they didn't win the Jamaican Lottery, haven't gotten One Million dollars from the Nigerian treasury, or have been chosen to receive a free Ipad.
Most people. Not everyone.
That is why the scams still work.
For Kids, Seniors & Newbies
Never give away too much information. Always use nicknames and be vague.
With Email, select a provider which doesn't take much info from you to share with the world.
For example, Yahoo.
What is the point of creating a 'safe user' when everyone gets an email from you which reveals your signup name? Lucy Ashe "[email protected]."
If you wanted your real name exposed you would have used it.
Select an Email provider which asks little personal information or lie. Lie about everything. Use that to join websites, and receive all that Spam.
Your 'real' email might be at your office or kept private.
WEBSITES
Never join any site with your 'real' name and address unless you have to; i.e. a professional listing, paypal, etc.MWhen you join Networks, whether Facebook or Reddit use a different nick than your email. Never use your own picture or that of anyone or thing that can be identified; i.e. a car with the license exposed or a house with a number.
You must also understand that on many Networks messages you send to others become public. On Facebook, for example, what you write on a friend's page is visible to all their friends. If they have an open site, anyone can see it.
Consider Networks a Bulletin Board at a Supermarket. Would you post your private thoughts at the Supermarket?
With Email, select a provider which doesn't take much info from you to share with the world.
For example, Yahoo.
What is the point of creating a 'safe user' when everyone gets an email from you which reveals your signup name? Lucy Ashe "[email protected]."
If you wanted your real name exposed you would have used it.
Select an Email provider which asks little personal information or lie. Lie about everything. Use that to join websites, and receive all that Spam.
Your 'real' email might be at your office or kept private.
WEBSITES
Never join any site with your 'real' name and address unless you have to; i.e. a professional listing, paypal, etc.MWhen you join Networks, whether Facebook or Reddit use a different nick than your email. Never use your own picture or that of anyone or thing that can be identified; i.e. a car with the license exposed or a house with a number.
You must also understand that on many Networks messages you send to others become public. On Facebook, for example, what you write on a friend's page is visible to all their friends. If they have an open site, anyone can see it.
Consider Networks a Bulletin Board at a Supermarket. Would you post your private thoughts at the Supermarket?
MALWARE PROTECTION
Whatever came with your computer is obsolete. Further, you have to change your protection every few months. There are many free malware detectors. Use different ones.
For example AVG is considered the Best. Every so often some new version comes out which can be compared to Windows VISTA...a new version of a system that worked before but now doesn't. People who left XP for VISTA live to regret it.
This is the 'standard' of software. Version 1 sort of works, Version 2 is better, Version 3 is highly promoted and is total rubbish, Version 4 works, Version 5 doesn't, on and on, so that one has to stay pat with what they have, miss the 'new' thing, and come back after the bugs are worked out.
With AVG one often replaces it with AVAST or the new I0 Bit, (or whatever). Never become complacent. What worked last month might not be as good this month.
The wisest thing is to download a virus detector on a thumb drive then disconnect from the Internet completely. That means pulling out the jack or removing the drive. Now that you are totally disconnected you can run your current malware detector for the last time, fully delete it, do a disk cleanup and a disk defragmentor, then load the new program from your thumb drive.
Run the new program while in your disconnected position. Once certain it works, then you can reconnect. But never connect to the 'Net without some form of malware detector.
BEWARE OF FREE
Never download 'free' games, smilies, pointers or other applications. These come packaged with every form of spyware. Many carry dangerous trojans. Once this crap gets into your computer you have to virtually get into the BIOS and delete it file by file. Learn that nothing is free. There is always a catch.
BREAK THE LINK
Teach yourself to periodically disconnect from the Internet. By constantly disconnecting and reconnecting if your computer is being used as a Zombie Server, if malware is downloading, it will be disrupted.
Never have the jack in your computer when you are not using the Internet. Disconnect when you go to bed. Reconnect when you are ready for the Internet. Sometimes you have some work you need to complete. Do it 'offline'. Connect to the Internet for the time it takes to check your mail, connect to sites, send mail, then disconnect when you are going to make a meal. Unless you are actually downloading something there is no reason for the computer to be connected to the 'Net.
Spammers can connect to your computer and have your computer behave as part of their array. You don't know that they are sending crap through your computer. They create links between a number of computers to protect themselves. They connect to me, then my computer to yours, then yours to someone else. If you keep disconnecting, you break the link. If you do it enough times, you get off the list of Zombies.
Any pop up, anything you see that is unexpected, immediately shut down the computer and disconnect. Do not respond to anything. If you are told a virus was found, disconnect.
When you restart if it is a real message from your computer, your malware protector will deal with it. If it was a scam your computer won't notice.
Never open email attachments. If you know the person and are expecting an attachment, that is one thing. Any email from anyone you don't know, delete.
For example AVG is considered the Best. Every so often some new version comes out which can be compared to Windows VISTA...a new version of a system that worked before but now doesn't. People who left XP for VISTA live to regret it.
This is the 'standard' of software. Version 1 sort of works, Version 2 is better, Version 3 is highly promoted and is total rubbish, Version 4 works, Version 5 doesn't, on and on, so that one has to stay pat with what they have, miss the 'new' thing, and come back after the bugs are worked out.
With AVG one often replaces it with AVAST or the new I0 Bit, (or whatever). Never become complacent. What worked last month might not be as good this month.
The wisest thing is to download a virus detector on a thumb drive then disconnect from the Internet completely. That means pulling out the jack or removing the drive. Now that you are totally disconnected you can run your current malware detector for the last time, fully delete it, do a disk cleanup and a disk defragmentor, then load the new program from your thumb drive.
Run the new program while in your disconnected position. Once certain it works, then you can reconnect. But never connect to the 'Net without some form of malware detector.
BEWARE OF FREE
Never download 'free' games, smilies, pointers or other applications. These come packaged with every form of spyware. Many carry dangerous trojans. Once this crap gets into your computer you have to virtually get into the BIOS and delete it file by file. Learn that nothing is free. There is always a catch.
BREAK THE LINK
Teach yourself to periodically disconnect from the Internet. By constantly disconnecting and reconnecting if your computer is being used as a Zombie Server, if malware is downloading, it will be disrupted.
Never have the jack in your computer when you are not using the Internet. Disconnect when you go to bed. Reconnect when you are ready for the Internet. Sometimes you have some work you need to complete. Do it 'offline'. Connect to the Internet for the time it takes to check your mail, connect to sites, send mail, then disconnect when you are going to make a meal. Unless you are actually downloading something there is no reason for the computer to be connected to the 'Net.
Spammers can connect to your computer and have your computer behave as part of their array. You don't know that they are sending crap through your computer. They create links between a number of computers to protect themselves. They connect to me, then my computer to yours, then yours to someone else. If you keep disconnecting, you break the link. If you do it enough times, you get off the list of Zombies.
Any pop up, anything you see that is unexpected, immediately shut down the computer and disconnect. Do not respond to anything. If you are told a virus was found, disconnect.
When you restart if it is a real message from your computer, your malware protector will deal with it. If it was a scam your computer won't notice.
Never open email attachments. If you know the person and are expecting an attachment, that is one thing. Any email from anyone you don't know, delete.
HOUSEKEEPING
Every day do a disk clean-up and a defragmentation of your drive. Get rid of everything you can. That means setting your browser to have a very small cache, clearing previous restore points. Get rid of everything you can.
Once you have cleaned up your disk, defrag it. This will help keep things in order and help the computer run faster. You don't need temporary files, and there is no sense holding anything in a browser cache.
Keep as little as possible on your computer; this is in case of crashes or some other disaster. Important information; whether your novel or stock portfolio should be kept on other servers elsewhere.
Once you have cleaned up your disk, defrag it. This will help keep things in order and help the computer run faster. You don't need temporary files, and there is no sense holding anything in a browser cache.
Keep as little as possible on your computer; this is in case of crashes or some other disaster. Important information; whether your novel or stock portfolio should be kept on other servers elsewhere.
A Word About Dating Sites
Although I shouldn't have to mention it; these sites are very much about taking your money, very little about 'matching' you with anyone. The questionmaire you fill out is for show. People who join these sites often have problems or projects.
Think of it like this; if he was so rich, if she was so beautiful, would they be on this lame dating site? The pathetic loser yeah, this is their realm, the scammer, yeah, it's all out there. But the normal person simply looking for a husband/wife?
The Famous 'Scott Grant' story can be repeated.
Nigerian scammers joined Dating sites using the image of a small time American model called 'Scott Grant'. As a number of dating sites do IP capture, the explanation why Scott was in Lagos made him a Peace Corps volunteer.
Scott Grant was collecting women all over America. A couple of nineteen year old gamesters were pulled in to deal with the inrush. 'Scott Grant' received thousands upon thousands of US dollars from American women.
Hundreds of American women sent tickets and money to Scott expecting to marry him. Hundreds of American women stood waiting at airports for someone who would never arrive.
Although the story was covered on Oprah about three years ago, Scott Grant is still succeeding because the number of pathetic losers is ever increasing.
If you have to join Dating Sites, create a new user account on your computer. Use a different name, email address, etc. Only use your dating account at set times to prevent being swamped with email and instant messages from homeless people looking for an all expense vacation at your house.
Believe nothing you read, assume the photograph is a fake, and refuse to send money no matter what dire circumstances your 'lover' seems to be in.
Trust nothing and no one in Cyberspace.
Not even yourself.
Think of it like this; if he was so rich, if she was so beautiful, would they be on this lame dating site? The pathetic loser yeah, this is their realm, the scammer, yeah, it's all out there. But the normal person simply looking for a husband/wife?
The Famous 'Scott Grant' story can be repeated.
Nigerian scammers joined Dating sites using the image of a small time American model called 'Scott Grant'. As a number of dating sites do IP capture, the explanation why Scott was in Lagos made him a Peace Corps volunteer.
Scott Grant was collecting women all over America. A couple of nineteen year old gamesters were pulled in to deal with the inrush. 'Scott Grant' received thousands upon thousands of US dollars from American women.
Hundreds of American women sent tickets and money to Scott expecting to marry him. Hundreds of American women stood waiting at airports for someone who would never arrive.
Although the story was covered on Oprah about three years ago, Scott Grant is still succeeding because the number of pathetic losers is ever increasing.
If you have to join Dating Sites, create a new user account on your computer. Use a different name, email address, etc. Only use your dating account at set times to prevent being swamped with email and instant messages from homeless people looking for an all expense vacation at your house.
Believe nothing you read, assume the photograph is a fake, and refuse to send money no matter what dire circumstances your 'lover' seems to be in.
Trust nothing and no one in Cyberspace.
Not even yourself.