Web Safety Tips
The web is one of the most common places to be for people in the 21st century. It is also a risky place. In this tab, I will put out some advice for keeping yourself safe on the web.
"Speed Up your Computer!" - Doesn't Work!
June 10, 2013
When you are browsing the web, you may run in to an advertisement asking you if you have a slow computer, or just saying that their software will speed up your computer. These are not true. The software you receive from the advertisement is most likely not going to speed up your computer. This software is also a potential virus, and it could cause many more problems that you really don't want to have. If you have problems with a slow computer, check out the computer speed tab for information on keeping your computer running well. In general, it is best to avoid clicking on web advertisements, especially ones that advertise improving your computer's speed.
When you are browsing the web, you may run in to an advertisement asking you if you have a slow computer, or just saying that their software will speed up your computer. These are not true. The software you receive from the advertisement is most likely not going to speed up your computer. This software is also a potential virus, and it could cause many more problems that you really don't want to have. If you have problems with a slow computer, check out the computer speed tab for information on keeping your computer running well. In general, it is best to avoid clicking on web advertisements, especially ones that advertise improving your computer's speed.
You Have (not) Won!
Dec 22, 2011
Yes! You are the thousandth person to visit this website! Click Here to caim your bonus of an iPad 2. This is an ad that I have come across, and it is not true. When you come across one of these, if you were to click on it, there are two things that could happen. You would get a webpage requiring you to fill out information before you could claim your prize. This, of course, is an awful idea, because these companies are never big names, it won't be Apple or any other legitimate company. Once you fill out the information, they might actually provide you with the product, however, most likely you will still have to pay for it, and they will take all of the information that you have given them and send you advertising emails, and give other companies this information, and you would begin to see a lot more spam email coming in, and possibly real mail with catalogs. And they probably won't even send you the product. Once you submit your information, they might provide a clever excuse, such as, "Oh, sorry, someone else has already claimed (Product)!". Or you would begin downloading a file, which could be a virus that would take control of your computer.
You probably don't see pop ups very often if you visit safe and legitimate sites. But this is also a very easy way to tell if this site is a 'good' site or 'bad' site. Bad sites are sometimes easy to tell, especially piracy sites. These sites will usually have a lot of the pop ups and ads, and they provide products that can be downloaded illegaly, such as music that you should pay for, but you won't on piracy sites. When you visit a piracy site, you will probably see many messages saying 'Pop-Up Blocked'.
In conclusion, it is important to never click on a pop up, as these can wreak havoc and cause your computer to be infected with a virus, or cause your mail or email to be bombarded with advertisements. And anyway, have you ever even heard of someone who won from one of these? When you see a pop up, You Have Won, remember that You Have (not) Won!
Yes! You are the thousandth person to visit this website! Click Here to caim your bonus of an iPad 2. This is an ad that I have come across, and it is not true. When you come across one of these, if you were to click on it, there are two things that could happen. You would get a webpage requiring you to fill out information before you could claim your prize. This, of course, is an awful idea, because these companies are never big names, it won't be Apple or any other legitimate company. Once you fill out the information, they might actually provide you with the product, however, most likely you will still have to pay for it, and they will take all of the information that you have given them and send you advertising emails, and give other companies this information, and you would begin to see a lot more spam email coming in, and possibly real mail with catalogs. And they probably won't even send you the product. Once you submit your information, they might provide a clever excuse, such as, "Oh, sorry, someone else has already claimed (Product)!". Or you would begin downloading a file, which could be a virus that would take control of your computer.
You probably don't see pop ups very often if you visit safe and legitimate sites. But this is also a very easy way to tell if this site is a 'good' site or 'bad' site. Bad sites are sometimes easy to tell, especially piracy sites. These sites will usually have a lot of the pop ups and ads, and they provide products that can be downloaded illegaly, such as music that you should pay for, but you won't on piracy sites. When you visit a piracy site, you will probably see many messages saying 'Pop-Up Blocked'.
In conclusion, it is important to never click on a pop up, as these can wreak havoc and cause your computer to be infected with a virus, or cause your mail or email to be bombarded with advertisements. And anyway, have you ever even heard of someone who won from one of these? When you see a pop up, You Have Won, remember that You Have (not) Won!
Watch Your Step!
Watch for the Copyright Symbol
Dec 10, 2011
When you are on the internet, you already know that everything you post is out there forever. This is a very important thing to remember when you use the web. But another important thing to remember is copyrights. There are many famous copyright violations, and many people have been sued for putting up a song online for free download. When you come across a site offering free songs, turn it down, it is most likely illegal. Unless you are paying for the song for your own usage, the artist does not get paid, and this is illegal. So it is also illegal to put up a song or movie or tv show for free download somewhere. There was a case in which a girl acidentally left herself logged in online, and many, many people were able to download songs from her account. She ended up getting sued for $27,000. There are many other cases, and you have to be careful. You don't want this happening to you, because this has a great affect on your future as well. Imagine if you were not cautious enough and put up a song for free download, and millions downloaded the song. You could be sued for millions of dollars, and who would hire you as an employee? We live in a digital age, and there are many news stories for these incidents. So it is always a good idea to watch out for these things. Avoid 'free' things as well. When browsing the web, it is important to remember this saying: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
When you are on the internet, you already know that everything you post is out there forever. This is a very important thing to remember when you use the web. But another important thing to remember is copyrights. There are many famous copyright violations, and many people have been sued for putting up a song online for free download. When you come across a site offering free songs, turn it down, it is most likely illegal. Unless you are paying for the song for your own usage, the artist does not get paid, and this is illegal. So it is also illegal to put up a song or movie or tv show for free download somewhere. There was a case in which a girl acidentally left herself logged in online, and many, many people were able to download songs from her account. She ended up getting sued for $27,000. There are many other cases, and you have to be careful. You don't want this happening to you, because this has a great affect on your future as well. Imagine if you were not cautious enough and put up a song for free download, and millions downloaded the song. You could be sued for millions of dollars, and who would hire you as an employee? We live in a digital age, and there are many news stories for these incidents. So it is always a good idea to watch out for these things. Avoid 'free' things as well. When browsing the web, it is important to remember this saying: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Secure Passwords
Nov 15, 2011
One of the best ways to keep your information safe is a password. Almost every website will require a password for creating an account. However, what is the point of a password if it does not keep your information safe? Whether or not your information is kept safe is up to you.
If you want safe information, you need a strong and secure password. When you create a login, a lot of passwords that you think of that you know you will be able to remember well are very easy things. These might include your birthday, last name, or very common passwords that you have heard of like, open sesame, letmein, and so on. The best way to create a password is not to use words. There are a total of 92 easy characters to type on your basic keyboard. (This includes symbols as well.) You can create very secure passwords using these characters. The best way to go with passwords is using random characters. This makes it very hard to guess, as most people would try to guess words instead of random characters and letters. These may be hard to remember, but they are much, much more secure. Secure passwords would look something like this: *3do&6A03. This password would be extremely hard to guess, as you can probably tell.
So next time you create a password, remember this article, and how secure passwords can mean the difference from secure information and public information.
One of the best ways to keep your information safe is a password. Almost every website will require a password for creating an account. However, what is the point of a password if it does not keep your information safe? Whether or not your information is kept safe is up to you.
If you want safe information, you need a strong and secure password. When you create a login, a lot of passwords that you think of that you know you will be able to remember well are very easy things. These might include your birthday, last name, or very common passwords that you have heard of like, open sesame, letmein, and so on. The best way to create a password is not to use words. There are a total of 92 easy characters to type on your basic keyboard. (This includes symbols as well.) You can create very secure passwords using these characters. The best way to go with passwords is using random characters. This makes it very hard to guess, as most people would try to guess words instead of random characters and letters. These may be hard to remember, but they are much, much more secure. Secure passwords would look something like this: *3do&6A03. This password would be extremely hard to guess, as you can probably tell.
So next time you create a password, remember this article, and how secure passwords can mean the difference from secure information and public information.
Are your passwords stolen? Here's what to do.
The NOOOOOO! face.
Nov 14, 2011
This topic isn't exactly what you would call 'internet safety' but it is a very important thing to know about computer safety. If you ever browse the web, there is a chance of a virus infecting your computer and stealing your files, which could be your passwords. If you were to have your online passwords digitally stolen, the first thing you need to do is reset your email password or passwords. Usually when you create an account on a website they ask for your email, so you can reset your password. If you don't start with your email, the hacker could take fast action and change your email password first, and then, he would have all your other logins at his disposal, because they were all registered with that email. Once you have changed your email account password, go back and change all of your other passwords. This is also a good opportunity to make them stronger, by including different cases of letters and unique characters. One of the most important things to do is to change your email password first. Once someone has control over that, they have every account with your email at their disposal.
This goes deeper than just accounts. Once they have your email, they also can access your other accounts and not only steal money, but steal your identity. They can learn all about you, and then there are all sorts of things they can do. So, when you have your passwords stolen, the best thing you can do is change your passwords, and start with your email accounts.
This topic isn't exactly what you would call 'internet safety' but it is a very important thing to know about computer safety. If you ever browse the web, there is a chance of a virus infecting your computer and stealing your files, which could be your passwords. If you were to have your online passwords digitally stolen, the first thing you need to do is reset your email password or passwords. Usually when you create an account on a website they ask for your email, so you can reset your password. If you don't start with your email, the hacker could take fast action and change your email password first, and then, he would have all your other logins at his disposal, because they were all registered with that email. Once you have changed your email account password, go back and change all of your other passwords. This is also a good opportunity to make them stronger, by including different cases of letters and unique characters. One of the most important things to do is to change your email password first. Once someone has control over that, they have every account with your email at their disposal.
This goes deeper than just accounts. Once they have your email, they also can access your other accounts and not only steal money, but steal your identity. They can learn all about you, and then there are all sorts of things they can do. So, when you have your passwords stolen, the best thing you can do is change your passwords, and start with your email accounts.
Http, Https, Safe Browsing
Nov 2, 2011
If you have ever looked at the URL bar at the top of your web browser, you will notice that the URl will start with http. This stands for hyper text transfer protocol. This basically means that it transfers the code for the website. This transfer is a unsecure coding, so basically someone could possibly eavesdrop on your browsing. The other type is https. This stands for hyper text transfer protocol secure. The only difference is that this is coded differently causing the people who would eavesdrop on your web browsing to be able to get the information. This is actually not really a problem, because you may think that you are going to have everything tracked. It really dosen't matter because unless you are uploading credit card information, there is no concern. If you log in to a website, it does not matter if the code that you are in is http. The only major concern for this type of browsing is credit card information. It is unlikely that you will run across a website that does not have https for entering credit card information, but if you do, be extremely cautious when purchasing things of of that website.
If you have ever looked at the URL bar at the top of your web browser, you will notice that the URl will start with http. This stands for hyper text transfer protocol. This basically means that it transfers the code for the website. This transfer is a unsecure coding, so basically someone could possibly eavesdrop on your browsing. The other type is https. This stands for hyper text transfer protocol secure. The only difference is that this is coded differently causing the people who would eavesdrop on your web browsing to be able to get the information. This is actually not really a problem, because you may think that you are going to have everything tracked. It really dosen't matter because unless you are uploading credit card information, there is no concern. If you log in to a website, it does not matter if the code that you are in is http. The only major concern for this type of browsing is credit card information. It is unlikely that you will run across a website that does not have https for entering credit card information, but if you do, be extremely cautious when purchasing things of of that website.
Where to Store your Passwords
Nov 1, 2011
Passwords are essential information for all of your logins. These, however, if they fall in to the wrong hands, can cause lots of trouble for you. To save this from happening, the first thing you need to do is figure out a good place to store it. You may just first off think, I'll just create a text document and put them all in there. They'll be safe in my computer and I won't be able to lose them. That is true, unless you lose your computer or device you store this on. If you have read my article about Internet Security, (The one below this), or heard about hackers, you know there is more than one way to lose your computer.
It is true that you can physically lose your computer, but the one that most people are less careful about is not that, but the sites you visit and the stuff you download. This is where hacking comes in to play. If you have not read my article about Internet Security, and don't know much about hackers and stuff than I would recommend reading it before continuing, because I will reference some of that. Anyway, If a hacker gets in to your computer and starts getting your information, that text document thats hold your passwords could quite likely be one of the things getting sent over. As you can tell, a text document is not a secure way to store your login information. Don't give up on computers just yet, though.
Another idea for the text document, despite being insecure, is purchasing a flash drive. These devices are not very expensive, and can hold several gigabytes of information. You could create a text document and keep it saved on that flash drive. Only plug it in when you need to access one of those passwords, and the flash drive would be significantly less vulnerable than a text document stored on the hard drive of your computer. This yet still is vulnerable to hackers if you have it plugged in and they get your information. There is another way to store your information, however.
There are several companies that make password storage software that you can purchase. These encrypt the passwords you put in and make it so that if the hacker were to get the passwords, he would not be able to tell what they were because they would be unopenable with his computer, even if he had the same software. These software items are often expensive, and really, not the best option.
The best thing that I can think of is just pen and paper. If you store these in a safe spot that you remember, you don't have to worry about hackers, depending on the hiding place, robbers, and other people who want your money and information. This dosen't require a lot of setup, and is the safest way to keep your information from getting lost. Overall, there are a whole lot of companies offering great password protection deals, but none can really protect your information as much as not even putting it somewhere accesible. Out of everything I can think of, pen and paper wins out.
Passwords are essential information for all of your logins. These, however, if they fall in to the wrong hands, can cause lots of trouble for you. To save this from happening, the first thing you need to do is figure out a good place to store it. You may just first off think, I'll just create a text document and put them all in there. They'll be safe in my computer and I won't be able to lose them. That is true, unless you lose your computer or device you store this on. If you have read my article about Internet Security, (The one below this), or heard about hackers, you know there is more than one way to lose your computer.
It is true that you can physically lose your computer, but the one that most people are less careful about is not that, but the sites you visit and the stuff you download. This is where hacking comes in to play. If you have not read my article about Internet Security, and don't know much about hackers and stuff than I would recommend reading it before continuing, because I will reference some of that. Anyway, If a hacker gets in to your computer and starts getting your information, that text document thats hold your passwords could quite likely be one of the things getting sent over. As you can tell, a text document is not a secure way to store your login information. Don't give up on computers just yet, though.
Another idea for the text document, despite being insecure, is purchasing a flash drive. These devices are not very expensive, and can hold several gigabytes of information. You could create a text document and keep it saved on that flash drive. Only plug it in when you need to access one of those passwords, and the flash drive would be significantly less vulnerable than a text document stored on the hard drive of your computer. This yet still is vulnerable to hackers if you have it plugged in and they get your information. There is another way to store your information, however.
There are several companies that make password storage software that you can purchase. These encrypt the passwords you put in and make it so that if the hacker were to get the passwords, he would not be able to tell what they were because they would be unopenable with his computer, even if he had the same software. These software items are often expensive, and really, not the best option.
The best thing that I can think of is just pen and paper. If you store these in a safe spot that you remember, you don't have to worry about hackers, depending on the hiding place, robbers, and other people who want your money and information. This dosen't require a lot of setup, and is the safest way to keep your information from getting lost. Overall, there are a whole lot of companies offering great password protection deals, but none can really protect your information as much as not even putting it somewhere accesible. Out of everything I can think of, pen and paper wins out.
Internet Security, Why it's so important.
Web Safety is very important!
October 30, 2011. You have probably heard quite a bit about Internet Security on your computer. You have also probably seen quite a few ads for different Internet security services. If you notice, they are all very expensive. Do you really need something so expensive? Yes. This is very important software for your computer. The Microsoft Windows especially. These computers are the most targeted computers on the market. When you get your computer, you will probably have an operating system with a built-in security. This, in most cases, is not good enough. You will need something more. The built in security is not always well designed, and is easy for hackers to get around. ‘Hackers’ is a term for the people who will create viruses that they use to steal your information. The viruses are used for taking everything you type on your keyboard and then sending it to the hacker. This is very dangerous because they can get your passwords, finances, and any other important thing that you have shared in your computer. If you type in a login and password to any website, even if it is a secure server, the hackers will get. This could be anything from your online games account to any bank accounts. This is very dangerous because if they would get your password, to say, Amazon.com, they could purchase numerous things off of your account, making you pay for it.
Another type is a virus that cancels all programs out and then only allows you to visit a certain website. This website probably advertises a software that is an internet security program that you can purchase and download. This is not a real mobile security, this is a purchase that will probably undo the virus on your computer, however will not give real software. This will just take your money.
So, if you don’t have any internet security on your computer, it is a very important and necessary part of any computer. Even if you are not connected to any internet, you can still get a virus through a flash drive, or anything downloaded or installed on your computer. Even if you have a Internet Security system, there is not always a garauntee that you will be safe from any attacks. It is still a good idea to back up your computer regularly and run system scans with the security regularly.
Another type is a virus that cancels all programs out and then only allows you to visit a certain website. This website probably advertises a software that is an internet security program that you can purchase and download. This is not a real mobile security, this is a purchase that will probably undo the virus on your computer, however will not give real software. This will just take your money.
So, if you don’t have any internet security on your computer, it is a very important and necessary part of any computer. Even if you are not connected to any internet, you can still get a virus through a flash drive, or anything downloaded or installed on your computer. Even if you have a Internet Security system, there is not always a garauntee that you will be safe from any attacks. It is still a good idea to back up your computer regularly and run system scans with the security regularly.
Stuff you put stays!
Oct 30, 2011
I know that you have probably heard this quite a bit from several sources, and thought, I know this already. STOP REMINDING ME! You probably know it by now, but might not know exactly what it means. You probably think it means that when you put something out there, somebody has probably seen it and knows it was there. Yes, that is true, but, whatever you post has been archived on the web. Every little update to a website is archived. http://web.archive.org, http://www.webarchives.cdlib.org/ are just two examples. More sites are doing this. Even if you post something say on facebook and you delete it immediatley after, it has been archived. It is just a little bit harder to find something, but if you take the time, it can be done. It is not always too late! If you type something in the post box and have not hit send, it has not been posted. This is why it is very important to reread what you have put on before posting. I hope that you think twice before hitting that "Post" or "Send" button next time. You don't want something happening.
This is important not only so that something you don't want getting out there, but keep in mind that everything you put out there could possibly be used against you in the future. It is said that 90% of employers google their clients names before hiring. If you have some things that could make you a questionable employee, don't send it. Change your wording, or, if necessary, don't send it at all.
I know that you have probably heard this quite a bit from several sources, and thought, I know this already. STOP REMINDING ME! You probably know it by now, but might not know exactly what it means. You probably think it means that when you put something out there, somebody has probably seen it and knows it was there. Yes, that is true, but, whatever you post has been archived on the web. Every little update to a website is archived. http://web.archive.org, http://www.webarchives.cdlib.org/ are just two examples. More sites are doing this. Even if you post something say on facebook and you delete it immediatley after, it has been archived. It is just a little bit harder to find something, but if you take the time, it can be done. It is not always too late! If you type something in the post box and have not hit send, it has not been posted. This is why it is very important to reread what you have put on before posting. I hope that you think twice before hitting that "Post" or "Send" button next time. You don't want something happening.
This is important not only so that something you don't want getting out there, but keep in mind that everything you put out there could possibly be used against you in the future. It is said that 90% of employers google their clients names before hiring. If you have some things that could make you a questionable employee, don't send it. Change your wording, or, if necessary, don't send it at all.
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