How to stay secure online

25 October 09 ,

Aside from using strong yet memorable passwords, what else can you do to stay secure online? Here are a few tips.

Keep your browser up-to-date

Still using IE6 or Firefox 2.5? Time to upgrade! I could take this opportunity to urge you to drop IE altogether, but at the very least, upgrade to the latest version (8). Same with Firefox, Safari, Opera, or any browser—minor and major updates alike often contain security fixes. Same goes for your operating system.

Don’t phall for email phishing

Just today I got an email from someone purporting to be from DHL, saying my package couldn’t be delivered. Well, I hadn’t ordered anything and this was pretty transparently a scam, but they can be very tricky. If you’re sent an attachment, don’t open it unless you know the sender. If someone claiming to be your bank, for example, sends you a link, don’t click on it. Instead, type your bank’s url into your browser, and access your account the normal way.

Don’t phall for web phishing

Sometimes a site will open a popup window, which appears to be an error message. Don’t click anywhere on the window, but use Ctrl-W, or Command-W to close the window.

Also, look for a site’s security features, like the tiny lock icon in the browser window and “https://” in the address bar.

Keep anti-virus software up to date

As a Mac user, I’m pretty spoiled in when it comes to viruses. Whether it’s by their relative rarity or actual built-in security, Macs just don’t generally have trouble with viruses. But if you have a Windows system, be sure to keep anti-virus software current.

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