Working online can be very rewarding and fun but there are safety precautions that a person can do and should be doing and believe me this is just a few that I have learned along the way.

There are some things that I just wanted to highlight in this blog post to make you aware and use caution here online.  These are just some things that I have learned the hard way and some I have heard from friends.

Phishing

Most of you probably know what this word means but if you were like me you had no clue what it meant when I first started online.  Phishing pronounced fishin is the activity of defrauding an online account holder of financial information by posing as a legitimate company.

This happens in emails, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, etch so it really keeps a person on their toes.  My rule of thumb NEVER click on any links that you do not know where they came from and DO NOT even click on any links from friends unless you are talking to them at the time.  I will even take this one step further – ask a question that only the person you are talking to will know the answer as some hackers will even talk to you – I had that happen on Skype before pretending to be the friend of the account they had hacked.

Trojans

Yes that is a scaring word to lot of people but do you know there are hackers out there that will download them on your computer to get info from you.  They can be disguised in ways that look harmless.

Drive-by downloads

Did you know that hackers can sneak malicious code on to legitimate website – when you think that you are downloading a legit file or even pictures.  That happened to me once when I download a picture that I wanted to use from Facebook and Google.

Bypassing passwords

As I was researching, I was quite surprised to find out that there is a software that will actually install virus and can read what you type on your computer – thus giving the hackers your passwords.

This info was gotten from this post on USA Today and here is the link to the post and really think that everyone should read this 5 Ways Hackers Attack You. 

This all has been a real eye-opener for me and actually my research started on all this as my support guy is always on my case about logging out of my sites vs just hitting the X at the top and closing out.  Well this does NOT close you out and leaves a door open for hackers – in fact there are a group out there that are doing just that.

So this all started out with me just giving you a eye-opener and like with any thing that you do there are safety precautions that you have to do.  Take the time to log out of your site, your cpanel, the TE you are surfing etc.  I know it’s a PITA and quicker to hit the X but don’t be leaving your doors open and invite unwanted intruders in.  This is like locking your front door and leaving the back door unlocked thinking that a burglar wouldn’t bother to check – think again.

A couple more places that I would like to send you to especially if you share a computer or might have to use the computer at the library or school.  The Data Goldmine

AND this one for sure as I have been guilty of this and that is using the same password at many of the sites that I’m on because it’s easier to remember.  Keep in mind once they have your password – that means that all the accounts with that same password is up for grabs.  Password Hacked and 9 Things To Do After Your Email has Been Hacked