Safety not stupidity

Last week I mentioned that the best way to keep your pc safe is to PAY ATTENTION to what you're doing. This week I'm going to explain a bit about what I meant.

In the sea of data we call the internet, there are perils just like in the real world. Scavengers seeking to steal your information, people looking into what you're doing, and even tiny bytes of programming that seek to crash your computer for no other reason than to piss you off.

First up let's talk about phishing scams. Phishing is a practice commonly used to steal credit card information, facebook accounts, service accounts etc. The easiest way to avoid phishing scams is to pay close attention to the way they're delivered. Most of the time it's done through e-mail which will either have strange wording, threats, or "security" concerns which prompt the recipient to do something like log into a bogus website or reply with sensitive information like a bank account number or something along those lines. Most of the time these e-mails look legitimate enough to cause some concern which is how most people get tricked into doing what the message tells them. So how can you avoid these kind of attacks? Simply by instead of clicking links, or sending secure information to some random e-mail account, go directly to the services website. Sometimes you'll still end up on a bogus website so the easiest way to double check is click on a secondary link in the page itself. If it goes through, you're probably in the right place and you're ok to log in. If the link doesn't work its probably a scam and you need to check your address bar for the correct url.


The next most horrible thing people fall victim to is advertising on web pages. The only thing I can really say is that most of these are totally fake and should be ignored. You most likely will NOT get a free Xbox or a diamond ring or points for your Facebook game. Just avoid these things entirely even if they seem legitimate. If you're genuinely interest in a product go Google it and see what comes up. Be very cautious though, many website impersonate legitimate companies.


Third, STAY AWAY FROM PORN. Most viruses are spread through porn sites because they're generally the most used and easily corrupted. Go out to a bar or something and try to get laid by a physical being for a change.

Lastly make sure you never give out more information than you have to. E-mail addresses and names are usually enough to get you set up with an account on a legitimate website, some require more but usually its better to give fake information than your physical address, phone number or sometimes even your gender.