Internet Identity Theft Prevention

By Rudy Dhondt

You may not realize it, but while you are surfing on the internet it is possible that identity thieves try to capture data from your computer.

Your hard disk may be stuffed with, names, addresses, logins and passwords and even credit card numbers. Every time you connect to the internet you create a certain internet history. Webmasters and online companies store cookies on your computer to make logging in easier for you, but if you are not careful enough this information might also reach the wrong people.

People who are full of eagerness to use your data to their own advantage. There are several ways in which the identity thieves try to capture your data. It all happens when you do not use a secure internet connection. Most of the time they try to install spyware on your computer to collect the personal data and this information is automatically sent back to them.

The data may consist of temporary internet files, such as log ins and passwords, names and addresses, browser history and these can be used to reconstruct your internet behaviour.

What can you do to avoid identity theft?

A good start if you are not yet equipped with an internet security software package is deletion of internet history and the cookies in your browser. These can be set in the internet options of your browser to do the job automatically everyday.

But these are only basic precautions. The best protection is offered by the huge range of internet security packages. A good internet security software protects your computer from identity theft by the means of a firewall, which makes your computer invisible for the internet. This is the most important part of the internet security software.

A webfilter will avoid phishing sites from trying to get into your computer and collect passwords and log ins and even credit card numbers. Phishing sites send emails and act as if they are big companies like eBay or Paypal.

An anti-spam filter may be another addition to the package, but it is up to the user of the software to use it or not. Chances are that important emails end up in the spam folder.

Another way that thieves use to steel your information on the internet is by offering free software. There may be hidden files in the software that settle on your hard disk to collect important data and send these back to the sender as described above, better known as spyware.

And of course your internet security package wil provide a good anti-virus program which should be updated on a regular basis.

Is it wrong to do credit card payments on the internet?

It is not wrong to do credit card transactions on the internet, provided that your computer is equipped with internet security and that you keep an eye on your browser. During secure payments there must be a padlock visible in the right hand corner at the bottom of your browser. This means that the data you type in will be scrambled with code to make it impossible for identity thieves to capture your credit card numbers and security code.

If you apply all of the above given advice you will not have to worry about identity theft and have a good night sleep.

Rudy Dhondt is the webmaster of the website Identity Safety. If you want to learn more about Identity Theft, please visit

http://www.identity-safety.com

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