Public Browsing: How Safe is It?

Public Browsing: How Safe is It?

If you spend a lot of time working on your computer, it can be nice to get a change of scenery, and take your laptop to the local coffee shop to work while you enjoy a latte. Before you make a regular habit out of that, it’s important to understand the risks associated with it. While it might be a great way to get a change of scenery, it might also be a great way to put your personal data at risk.

One good rule to follow is that if you don’t need any sort of login information for the network, or any encryption information (such as a WEP key) then the network is completely open to anyone. That’s fine if you just want to brows the web while you’re drinking your coffee, but if you enter any sensitive information into any websites while browsing under those conditions, it could be very easy for someone to get their hands on it.

In fact, the more often you browse the web at that particular place under those particular conditions, the more risk you face. Programs called packet sniffers can pull your information piece by piece out of the wireless connection. It can take a long time for a packet sniffer to grab anything important or sensitive, and even when it does, it can take even longer to get every piece of that information, but given enough time, you will be putting your data at risk is someone’s trying to gather sensitive information from other users on the network.

It can also be very dangerous to leave your computer unattended in a public place. Most places have some security measures in place to allow you to lock your laptop to the spot you’re sitting at, but theft is only one thing to worry about. If you leave your laptop unattended for even two minutes, someone might have enough time to sit down at it, and get at your personal information. With the right piece of software loaded onto a thumbdrive, they could have a lot of valuable information about you in just a few short minutes.

If  the network you’re browsing on is secure, and you don’t let your computer out of your sight, then browsing in public can be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. Otherwise, it carries many risks that you might not have thought about before. Keep that in mind the next time you take your laptop to the local coffee shop.

If you’re  concerned about identity theft, you might consider TrustedID, an inexpensive solution that protect you and your family from the pain and agony of this violation.  Click here to see more and get free usage of the product along with credit reports.  We are an affiliate of TrustedID and do get a small fee if you buy the product.

Douglass Doggett, Sr.

 

Douglass Doggett, Sr. is a principal at Manufacturers Technology Outlet and has over 40 years experience in the technology industry. The firm specializes in providing new and manufacturer refurbished technology products at deep discounts. You can visit our blog http://blog.mantecho.com to view other articles or go to our website http://www.mantecho.com, sign up on our VIP list for Special Discounts and Updates…we’ll ship your first order absolutely Free!

Tips To Enjoy Safe Internet Browsing

Tips To Enjoy Safe Internet Browsing
You might have heard about Aladins Magic Lamp. Internet could be termed as the magic lamp of 21st century. Whatever you want, be it air ticket booking or accessing your bank account, you can do it by sitting on your favorite couch with just a few click. But there are disadvantages too. Criminals are now exploiting the advantages of technology and they lurk on the Internet in search of easy victims. These cyber criminals are known as hackers, spammers, etc. To enjoy safe browsing, you need to stop them. And due to this reason internet safety is important.

Lets take a closer look at what these cyber criminals could do. First of all, they access your computer without your permission. Known as unauthorized access this is one of the major threats in terms of Internet safety. If the hacker could access to your computer then they may get complete control over all your transactions. Even they can also misuse your personal details for illegal or objectionable purposes.

How to ensure Internet safety? Firstly, there should be a strong firewall protection for your network. There are some important things like an anti-virus software, anti-spyware software installed on your PC. This is a must for the home computer users. You can consult an expert for PC security support.

If you are having a medium sized business, you would need a strong firewall. For large businesses, apart from a strong firewall, stronger Internet security software as well as security fencing is required. It is also recommended not to upload your pictures and videos on unreliable social networking sites.

Social networking is very popular these days. While exploring these sites, you should refrain from giving out your address, telephone number as well as credit card number, social security number, passwords or even your complete name. It is also recommended not to allow strangers to access to your web camera at the time of chatting with strangers via instant messenger, or such services.

Shopping on the Internet has now become widely popular. You should make sure that you select a reliable website. Refrain from shopping on websites that are not popular. These websites can have spyware and other malware which may result identity theft. You should avoid using the Internet caf for performing important transactions over the Internet. Even if you are compelled to do that, you should check whether any spy software is installed on the computer or not.

Remember, to enjoy a safe Internet browsing experience, it is a must to be equipped with filtering software, anti-virus and anti-spyware software as well as firewall detector and a pop-up blocker. If all these are installed on your computer then only you can enjoy safe internet browsing.

Computer services companies offer round the clock tech support to the PC users to deal with all types of security related issues. Opt for any of their tech support plans and enjoy secure computing.

Browse Safely on Internet Explorer

Browse Safely on Internet Explorer

Before using the internet or going online, make sure that you have got the proper protection against the threats. If your system did not come with the installed anti-virus, install the anti-virus initially before using the internet.

Use the internet explorer in the private mode

It is one of the safe modes to explore the internet. With the Private mode the one can browse the net safely and enjoy the private surfing of the net without the any risk.
In the private browsing the user can enjoy the net surfing without the any traces of browsing History and one other benefit of the private browsing is that whenever you use the someone else’s computer you can safely browse the net or can check the e-mails with the no traces of cookies and the browsing history.

Use Windows 7

If the user is using the Windows 7, just you have to click the right on the icon located at the task bar and chose the private browsing.

Using the windows 7 is one of the safest and the easiest method of browsing the internet safely.

Firewall

The user should make sure that he or she has the active firewall. With the help of the active firewall, user can block the certain websites. Or can raise the level of the security just with the help of the firewall. One can use the XP’s built-in firewall or the third party firewall.

With the help of the firewall the user can browse the internet safely and can set the safety filter also.

Before using the IE check the Internet option in the control panel

Before browsing the internet through the Internet Explorer, user can change or set the security level through the internet option present in the control panel.

After clicking on the icon of the internet option, user get the various internet option through which the user can set the security level from High to Low.

Make list of trusted sites

Try to make the list of trusted sites or the secured sites. Secured sites are the authorized by the government. Internet explorer will spend the less time on these secured sites and you can enjoy the faster speed. Just you have to create the list of trusted sites and put all of them into the trusted zone.
For browsing safely and securely try to use the latest version of the Internet Explorer with the latest features of the safety.

This article is posted by Harish Sheel behlaf of icybergenie.com. We are growing Online Computer Support where you can learn how to Upgrade Internet Explorer.