Anyone that goes online needs to be safe. It doesn’t matter if you know what you’re doing or not. With just one wrong move, you could end up having your identity stolen or a virus on your computer that could be costly to fix. Avoid making mistakes and go over this easy to follow advice to keep yourself safe on the Internet. It’s easier than you think…
Security software needs to be on your computer. You need to have something that scans regularly for viruses and spyware. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t download anything, you can have problems with this from various things like an image that your computer put in its temporary cache of files for making your browsing faster. Anything you download should be scanned, and your whole computer should be scanned at least once a week. If you’re on a business PC, then you may want to have it scanned each night after work just to be safe.
Do not put your payment information into any website you come across. Even if you think you are on a legit website, you may have typed in the URL wrong and could be giving your information to scammers. The best thing to do before you work with a website is to search for the name of the company and see if you can find recent reviews about it. Avoid going through links to websites from untrusted locations. For instance, you may see in a blog comment that if you click a link you can save money only to be lead to a fake website that is just there to steal information from people.
If you do order anything online, keep an eye on your credit card or bank statements depending on what you used for the transaction. If you notice that you are being charged later for something you didn’t buy, contact the credit card company or your bank right away. They can generally take the charge and reverse it for you, and you may also be able to learn where the charge is from so you can avoid working with them in the future.
Do not give your security information out, and be aware of the ways that people try to collect it from you. For instance, if someone on a social media site says for people to post the street name they grew up on plus their first pet name to come up with your superhero name, it’s not actually a fun game because they are trying to steal your security answers that most websites ask for. When you are setting up accounts, you generally will be asked to enter information like your mother’s maiden name so anyone that asks you for this information is trying to get into your accounts.
Once you realize how to stay safe online you can avoid big problems. There will always be people out there trying to take advantage of people through the Internet. It doesn’t matter if you’re browsing your favorite websites (such as My Voucher Codes), or simply exploring… you must always be vigilant. There will be plenty of new scams, viruses, and other problems to deal with so be sure you keep an eye on technology news to help you avoid future issues.
