By Sean Wilcoxson
In this world of computers, technology, and the internet where information flows all around us there exist two types of people: surfers and sharks.
These are dangerous waters. Just last year there were 2.6 million threats in the form of Trojan and other viruses sent out all over the internet. How are we to keep safe when most of us do not even know what a virus looks like, and what is more, how to stop one.
The answer is in the password. There are many different techniques to stop hackers from getting into your computer, this one is crucial to prevention.
You might be asking: ?Why do I need to change my password??
First, let?s take a look at just what a malicious attacker can do with your password.
Recently a hacker masquerading as your friend Bob sent you an email asking for help with money or some other problem and to help him all he requires is your sensitive personal information. Hacker skills are vast in finding ways into your friend Bob?s email account. One way is through malicious software that simply records the information as he types it in, like taking candy from a Bob the hackers now have his sign-in data and can use that for whatever they wish.
Poor Bob did not change his password, left it at boob69, and now has to answer to a friend who lost a thousand dollars because he thought Bob was in trouble from an email he sent. This can happen to anyone.
Sometimes all it takes for a hacker to get your password is to guess. “You use a password that’s easy to guess, like your first or last name plus your birth date (‘Laura1968’), or you provide an answer to a secret question that’s common and therefore easy to guess, like ‘pizza’ for ‘What is your favorite food?,'” wrote Priya Navak, Google?s online operations strategist. Be creative with your password.
Gmail is a common target along with Hotmail, Yahoo, and social networking site Facebook for sharks to base their attack on surfers? privacy.
There is so much information out there it is easy for hackers to grab whatever they want simply by reaching out there hand. To put this in perspective, 247 billion emails are sent out per day, 81% of which are spam emails. That means that every day there are about 200 billion attempts at scams, viruses, and other malicious attacks on you.
This happened to me, and I almost cashed a check written out to me from a businessman who actually used a job finding website to mask as an employer. He wanted me to send him via email my name, address, email address, and my age. It seemed like harmless info, so I obliged, not knowing that this ?employer? was a scammer who wanted me to cash a bad check.
Now you might be asking: ?How do I protect myself from these bad people?? Answer: Change your password twice a year and never reuse the same one.
Here are some other ways to protect you in the computer world.
1)????? Watch out for messages that ask for your username and/or password. Secure sites will not ask you for this information.
2)????? Never give out your password if you opened a link that you think is trusted on an email. Hackers are crafty little crackers; they can disguise a trusted site like Amazon or Google and have your information easy.
3)????? Always sign-out when you are finished using your email. Don?t leave the door open for hackers and viruses to get in.
There are also some good, free programs like LastPass and Keepass to help with protection. Don’t get bit by a computer shark while surfing the net!