Things that will help prevent you from becoming the victim of a computer scam or theft.
The internet is a vast and vast network of world Wide Web. But be careful using the net. There are many dangers waiting to pounce on you once you have allowed your computer to be near that machine. So to help you prevent computer or theft & identity theft I have put together some steps or suggestions to make sure you have a safe browsing experience on the net.
Look around.
Look around and ask yourself why are these prompts happening? Why not put a little time into using the net and learn a little bit about others browsing there? Why not look around while you are reading this article, then continue if you are interested. Are they invading your privacy?
Write down your password.
I know it seems like a pain now but you must remember that if someone steals your password than they will have access to anything important that may be on your computer. Like bank accounts and other online accounts. Write that password down and store it in a safe place.
Update your operating system and web browser software.
Always check for these updates on your website so that you have protected yourself from something that is already hiding in your system.
Delete and restore your cookies.
Use delete cookies cache and restore service to remove a lot of these cookies that are stored by sites that you have visited. This will help stop some of the spying tools from remaining on your hard drive after you have finished using them.
Be cautious
Don’t download things that you are not sure about.
Not because it may be free, but because it could contain a hidden virus or spyware. When you download any program, make sure that through the entire program it informed you about the presence of spyware or adware.
Delete duplicate emails.
If you have multiple email addresses than ensure that they are all active and legitimate. Delete duplicate emails to ensure that you are deleting actual emails as well as incoming ones.
Update your operating system and web browser software.
Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera have views of the internet that are updated frequently. As a result, it is important to ensure that you are using the most up to date version of your browser to avoid security holes that could be exploited by criminals to gain access to your computer.
Don’t open email from someone that you do not know.
Unless you are expecting an email, never open it. How is it that you can tell that it is a fake email? Pop-ups are extremely common and so are fake websites. Once you click on a pop-up you will be brought to the website of the company who paid for the click-through on that specific pop-up.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
Don’t open attachments in emails.
Always be sure that you know the sender of the email OR the subject of the message. When in doubt, run a quick virus scan on the attachment before opening it. You may also want to forward the message to other people in your address book.
Don’t download programs from unknown sources.
Components that you need to run many of the programs that you download from the internet may be infected. If you are not sure that it is from the company it may be a false positive. Downloads that contain this kind of malware could put your computer at risk.
Although this list is not a complete one and does not guarantee that you will never have to face the problem of computer identity theft. What can you do to prevent it?
Firstly, invest in a good anti-virus program and have it automatically update. You should also use it to scan your computer for viruses every week.
Secondly, never open emails from people that you do not know. If you do not know the sender, chances are that is a virus.
Thirdly, be careful on what you download to your computer. Only download from reputable sites that have a good reputation, and where you can be guaranteed it is safe to do so.