PROTECTING PERSONAL PRIVACYSecuring Your Online Information

http://www.life123.com/career-money/credit-debt/identity-theft/common-

identity-theft-scams.shtml

How safe is your information on the web?• As technology

advances, information becomes easier and faster to send between locations. This convenience is nice, but security becomes paramount in guaranteeing that private information is not accessed by unauthorized viewers.

https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=413846952130

Personal information can be

disclosed on all kinds of websites• Social Media Sites:

Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.

• Purchasing Websites: Amazon, E-Bay, etc.

• Any other website that requires creating an account

• Other parties may not even have to put in any effort to gather information. Depending on settings, the user may have all their information already displayed.

*This is a fake profile

What can they do with your information?

• Use it to access other personal accounts

• Identity theft, reputation damage

• Sell your information to other parties

• Blackmail, bribery

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Some information should never be given out

unless you know the source is completely

trustworthy

• Social Security Number• Credit Card Numbers• Account passwords• Addresses and Phone

Numbers

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Methods used to access personal

information

• Phishing• Spyware/Malware• Hacking• Simple searches

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You may not even know your

information is compromised until its

too late

• Universities have been targets for ID thieves

• One attack went unnoticed for over a year

• No U.S. law was implemented requiring the university to notify individuals that their information had been stolen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Ohio_University

Apprehending violators is difficult

• Anonymity adds to difficulty

• Victims must spend time and $$ to attempt to correct the situation

• Law enforcement, government and credit industries add complications to resolving the situation in a timely manner http://appraisalnewsonline.typepad.com/

appraisal_news_for_real_e/identity_theft/

However, there are punishments

for those caught committing these

crimes• State laws vary, but

federal laws have begun to crack down on identity theft related crimes

• Identity Theft Penalty Act raises max sentence from 3 to 5 years in prison with additional years depending on the specific crime

http://www.cybercrimesunit.com/?p=374

Simple Steps to Protect Your Online

Information• Never give out your

information to people you do not know or trust

• Be sure to have all your essential programs updated to their current release

• Use secure passwords for accounts

• Have antivirus and spyware/malware programs installed and enabled

• Keep other electronic devices with links to personal accounts secure

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Useful Computer Programs

• CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner• MalwareBytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/• NoScript(If using Mozilla Firefox browser):

http://noscript.net/• Antivirus Programs and more:

o AVG: http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepageo Nod32: http://www.eset.com/us/o Avast!: http://www.avast.com/en-us/indexo Aviria: http://www.avira.com/en/indexo Comodo: http://www.comodo.com/o Norton: http://www.symantec.com/index.jsp