How to Safeguard Our Personal and Financial Data

The emergence of the internet and e-commerce has brought many benefits to the users such as online shopping, online banking, online trading. Almost every financial transaction could be made online. However, despite all the benefits, this advancement also brings about bane. Identity thefts occur more,financial data and even personal data are leaked, malicious programs and viruses destroy information and many more uncountable troubles. No matter what we do these troubles could not be totally eliminated; but by following the few steps and tips below, the chances of all these troubles finding you is very much lower.

Password
A password is the most fundamental protection you must apply. But what's there to it. You've been using a password all along but still your data and information have been stolen. Our question is have you been using a password the correct way?

"WHAT?? THERE'S A RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO USE A PASSWORD???"


This is the question that might me playing in your mind now and it's answer is definitely a big YES!! For starters passwords should be something you can recall but not something so obvious like your birth date or name. It's also wise to have both alpha and numeric in your password; for example, "88cosmo88" (this is a password that we came up with on the spot so don't try to sign into our MSN using this password). Having different passwords for different accounts is also a good idea as a lost password will not lead to a loss of everything. To top things up, do not, we repeat DO NOT carry your passwords around be in on paper or in your hand phone. It'll be a big problem if you lose them.

Trusted Websites
Besides having a strong password, the websites you visit also plays a very crucial role in safeguarding your data. You should only access trusted websites. For the girls, do your online shopping through renown online traders such as Amazon.com or Walmart. For the boys, no matter how curious you are please refrain yourself from going to any websites that would corrupt your computer as well as your mind. All payments should also be made through trusted websites such as Public Bank (www.pbebank.com), Maybank (www.maybank2u.com)or Paypal (www.paypal.com).

AntiViruses


Another thing that your computer must have is an AntiVirus. As the post before mentioned, there are many viruses waiting to strike at your computer. Once infected there might be a lost of data stored in your computer or even end up frying your computer's hardware. So in order to avoid that from happening, it would be wise to install an AntiVirus. here's the list of the top 10 AntiVirus in year 2009 (http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/).



Spam
We are sure many of you have actually heard of this term, thus we'll not be elaborating on it. NEVER EVER respond to spam. We mean it never respond to spam as it is one of the phishing methods (refer to our earlier post on phishing to learn more). Some spams bring with them malicious software such as Trojan Horses and many more viruses that will cripple your computer and retrieve your information. SO NEVER EVER RESPOND TO SPAM.


The Rule of Thumb in Public Places

There are things that you should and should not do when accessing your private accounts or data on public computers. If possible don't, as you stand a risk of losing your data or finances. But if you have no choice then follow our instructions. Always look around before typing in your ID and password. You don't know when someone just happen to see you happily punching in your password and plans to steal them, so be alert. You should also make it a habit to clear all browsing history and saved passwords before logging off as you might have saved your password on the computer.

Well if you follow the step and tips that we have mentioned, we are certain that most probably, no most definitely, no MOST ABSOLUTELY all the troubles won't stumble on you.