Internet and Email Security for Non-Techies

Our Agenda• Little Background…why should you be worried

about this?• Monitor Your Credit– Equifax 800-685-1111– Experian 888-397-3742– TransUnion 877-922-8228– LifeLock 800-LifeLock

• 10 Ways to Stay Safe Online• Questions

Know What Others Know…• About your credit– Might be an indication something has happened to you

credit worthiness– Check it regularly – you can get a free copy of the report

once every 12 months• Review them carefully; check the inquiries companies are making,

look for new accounts, and anything that just looks odd.– To stop identity thieves consider place a fraud alert on

your account with all three of the bureaus– You have rights:

• FTC Website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/deter-detect-defend.html• Identity Theft Resource Center: http://www.idtheftcenter.org/

Secure Passwords• Make it difficult to figure out• Don’t place it on a note on the back of your keyboard or in your desk

drawer• A good password is:

– 8 characters long– Has no personal information– Does not use real words– Mixes upper and lower case characters and numbers– Something you change regularly (every 30 to 60 days)

• Tools to Generate Safer Passwords:– PC Tools Secure Password Generator:

http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/– Random Password Generator: http://www.randpass.com/– Bytes Interactive Password Generator:

http://www.goodpassword.com/

Don’t Open that Email• Unless you know who it is from• Read the subject lines before opening, even if

you think you know the person sending the message

• Turn off your preview window• Make sure your antivirus and antispam

software is updated regularly.

Buyer Beware – Shopping and Banking Online

• Make sure you know who you are doing business with, then ask a few questions:– Are they reputable?– Is their site secure?– Is there a physical address and phone number on the site?– Does the URL start with https: and have a picture of a lock

in the broswers status bar?– What is the companies return policy?

• Research a little…can you find online reviews of the company?

• Pay with a credit card to limit your liability.

Keep Your Software and Hardware Current

• Firewalls• Virus Protection• Browser Updates• Operating System Updates• Application Software Updates

Run your anti-virus scan and other security software regularly (weekly or more) to catch the bad things

before they make your computer “sick” or lose your identity.

Phishing and Pharming…not a sport or hobby

• Scams:– Phishing is where the perpetrator sends out legitimate-

looking emails appearing to come from a your bank, government, paypal, BestBuy, IRS, etc. in an effort to get you to give them your personal and financial information.

– Pharming is another scam where they get you to go to a website that looks like the real deal but isn’t, they then trick you into entering your information with the goal of stealing your identity and financial information.

• Social engineering…the bad stuff.

Backup Your Data• A good backup helps when:– A virus kills your hard drive– When your computer crashes– If your computer is stolen

• Backups safeguard what is important to you– Pictures, Papers, Financial data, and Medical data

• The best backup method is to an external hard drive or large thumb drive

• Take your backups and place them someplace safe

Disable Hidden File Extensions• Know what you are about to open…file

extensions tell you what the file is:– .exe = Program files (might be a virus or a good

program)– .jpg = Your pictures– .doc = Your term paper

• Some of the malicious and virus files masquerade as other files.

• Know before you click!

Administrative Accounts…good in moderation

• Keep this account separate from your working account(s)– Use this account for installing software or new

hardware– Use an account specific to you for day-to-day work

• If you are logged in as an administrator and catch a bad computer bug…it now has administrator rights to your computer.

Think Safe and Green• When you leave your computer on and your

Internet access open, you're giving potential hackers more opportunities to break into your computer.

• Always remember to turn off your Internet connection when you're not using it, and turn your computer off in between uses.

Clean Up…Before You Recycle• If you donate, sell, through away your old

computer wipe the hard disc clean with:– Darik’s Boot and Nuke: http://dban.sourceforge.net/– ShreditX: http://www.mireth.com/pub/sxme.html– DisposeSecure:

http://www.east-tec.com/products/index.htm– Wipe Drive: http://www.wipemydrive.com/

• Deleting and formatting your hard disc is not enough.

Questions.

Links and Suggestions• Anti-Virus

– AVG Anti-Virus (Free): http://free.avg.com/– Avast (Free): http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html– Norton 360: (

http://shop.symantecstore.com/store/symnahho/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.106300/productID.107120500?ClickID=blev1zugffvve11zqg6qknn6d6gfssfyng)

– McAfee: (http://us.mcafee.com/root/landingpages/affLandPage.asp?affid=101&lpname=13072vsp&cid=37094)

2008 Anti-Virus Review (http://www.2009softwarereviews.com/default.aspx?Refer=1GAS&Keyword=EantivirusSsoftware

)

Links and Suggestions• Spyware

– Spybot S&D (Free): (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)

– PCTools: (http://www.pctools.com/)– Windows Defender (Free): (

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=435bfce7-da2b-4a6a-afa4-f7f14e605a0d&displaylang=en)

Anti-Spyware Review 2008(http://anti-spyware-review.toptenreviews.com/)

Contact Information

Richard G. Bush, Ph. D.Director, Undergraduate Management Programs

Lawrence Technological Universitybush@ltu.edu248-204-3078