Protect your passwords.
Keep your passwords in a secure place, and out of plain view. Don’t share passwords on the Internet, over email, or on the phone. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) should never ask for your password. Hackers may try to figure out your passwords to gain access to your computer. To make it tougher for them:
• Use passwords that have at least eight characters and include numbers or symbols. The longer the password, the tougher it is to crack. A 12-character password is stronger than one with eight characters.
• Avoid common words: some hackers use programs that can try every word in the dictionary
. • Don’t use personal information, your login name, or adjacent keys on the keyboard as passwords. One way to create a strong password is to think of a memorable phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password, converting some letters into numbers that resemble letters. For example, “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck” would become HmWc@wCc
Back up important files.
Following these tips, you’re more likely to stay secure online, free of interference from hackers, viruses, and spammers. But no system is impenetrable. Copy your important files onto a disc you can remove, and store it in a safe place.
Learn who to contact if something goes wrong online.
Hacking or Computer Virus
If your computer gets hacked or infected by a virus:
• Immediately disconnect your machine from the Internet. Then scan your entire computer with fully updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and update your firewall.
• Alert the appropriate authorities. Contact:
• Your ISP and the hacker’s ISP (if you can tell what it is). You usually can find an ISP’s email address on its website. Include information on the incident from your firewall’s log file. By alerting the ISP to the problem on its system, you can help it prevent similar problems in the future.
• The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. To fight computer criminals, they need to hear from you. Internet Fraud If a scammer takes advantage of you through an Internet auction, when you’re shopping online, or in any other way, report it to the Federal Trade Commission, at ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Deceptive Spam If you get deceptive spam, including email phishing for your information, forward it to spam@uce.gov. Be sure to include the full header of the email, with all routing information. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing. org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing. Divulged Personal Information If you have mistakenly given out personal information, file a complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from a potential theft of your personal information.