Self-Defense on the Net

Ben Woelk of the RIT Information Security office presented "Digital Defense 101" on Friday afternoon in the George Eastman Building given the continuous technological advancements and the growing incidents of Internet theft.

The Internet is a place where people have the potential to “hurt” you when you are unaware of danger. Whether identity theft, bank information or theft of vital personal information, there are many people out there with malicious intent.

We are all vulnerable. Why are we targets of identity theft? Personal confidential information, as well as employer confidential information, is all up for grabs for these thieves. Attacks are becoming more and more complex, often relying on a combination of techniques. Something may be set up the wrong way which can leave the door open to these attackers or their attempts to trick you into giving out personal information. Hackers can get into your computer easily if you are unprotected.

Learning to defend yourself is simple: Have layers of protection, firewalls, patching anti-virus control, strong passwords, log on and log out, and lock it! It is easy to crack a weak password. Make sure you have a different password for every program, and make it at least 8 characters long. Anti-viral software protects against viruses, worms, and trojans. Only use one of these; do not double up on anti-virus protection.

It is a frightening reality that we are not even safe on our own computer. Be aware of these dangers because they are a common occurrence. Make sure you and your computer are safe and protected in order to avoid these problems.