So, your Facebook account just received a message insisting you visit a website from someone you may or may not know to a website you’ve never visited before that is enticing you to do something. It may seem like common sense to simply delete the message or report is as junk, but the fact is that many people unwittingly click such links, and that alone may have just infected their computer.

The internet has grown in use, and so have the tricks hackers and malicious websites use to steal personal information and put viruses and spyware computers. They might try and get you to download a file in order to see special content, or put hidden code in a website that can put itself on to the computer and use it for malicious purposes.

The latest example has been an issue on the website called “Twitter”, where users connect and exchange short messages with useful information and handy links with friends worldwide. Users receive a message from a friend, not knowing their friend’s account has been compromised, they click a link that brings them to a hacker’s website, which steals their twitter login and password, hoping they use the same combination on important websites, like banks.

It’s best to have a different login and password for each website you register for, but if that’s not realistic, have a different set for types of websites, one for banks, one for social networks, one for email, etc.

You’re a smart person, and in no way would I imply otherwise, but hackers and spammers out to make a buck off of your information, and can be very enticing and tricky in getting you to click that link or download that seemingly innocent browser plug-in, so be aware of what you’re doing online.

You may argue that you are running security or antivirus software and that you’re protected. True, but nothing is guaranteed. If you click “yes” or “ok” on something unwittingly, hopefully your software catches it if it’s bad, but it might not. User behaviour is the best defence, so please, pay attention.

A few extra seconds of paying attention to exactly what you are downloading and the websites you are visiting can mean the difference between a healthy computer and having to reinstall Windows and potentially lose your data.

Originally posted 2009-01-17 20:40:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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