be afraid, be very afraid….
When it comes to online security, I tend to err on the side of caution. Identity theft and credit card fraud is very real. It can happen to the best of us, as I learned on my last vacation.
I was using the hotel internet kiosk to print my airline boarding pass. I suspected something was wrong when it wouldn’t allow me to print. Long story short, minutes later my account was hacked, and the hackers were able to get to my credit card information.
So what can one do online to make sure they are safe? When you log onto a website using a username/password, make sure you are logging onto the ‘HTTPS://’ version of the site. As an example, when logging onto Bank of America, make sure it says ‘https://www.bofa.com’ and NOT just ‘http://’.
There is a difference. HTTPS is the secure version of the site. HTTPS uses SSL security to encrypt the information. HTTP information can be read by anyone on the internet.
Be cautions when using public computers to log onto secure websites. Also, be aware when using public WiFi hotspots. Anyone else connected to the same hotspot can view the traffic.
As long as you use public computers and WiFi hotspots with sound judgment, and make sure to use the secure (HTTPS) method to log on to websites, you will have little to fear.
Tell us about your online horror stories or experiences. If you have any questions or comments email me at SceneInSCV@PriorityTechSolutions.com or visit www.PriorityTechSolutions.com
