Yesterday, I covered three tips for safe browsing. Here are three more ways to stay safe online:
4) Visit Trusted Websites and Links - Wouldn't it be nice if all sites that push malware had names like "iwillgiveyouavirus.com"? Unfortunately, malware hides itself on sites that look legitimate. While search engines do adjust their algorithms to try to reduce the rankings of questionable sites, you should not automatically assume that any site that makes it to the top page on Google is a legitimate site.
Before you click on a result, check the site name to see if it looks legitimate. If you have not heard of the name, it might be best to skip over that result.
5) Beware of Typos - When I was in middle school, one of my teachers gave us an research project to teach us how to do research on the internet. One of the sites we were supposed to visit was whitehouse.gov. Unfortunately, one group visited whitehouse.com, which was a porn site at the time.
Fortunately, well-known sites are much better at buying domains with these type of mistakes and redirecting them to their actual site. For example, type "facbook.com" and you will get to Facebook. However, be careful to make sure that you type the name correctly. If someone had registered this name before Facebook got it, they could copy Facebook's login page and use it to steal login credentials. People trying to get to Facebook could easily be fooled if they didn't realize they mistyped the name.
6) Watch Out for Scams - This last one might be broad, but it is the easiest way to put it. Always look at everything online through a skeptical lens. Not only will this keep you from sending your bank account number to a "Nigerian prince", but it will also help you identify fake news stories and scams that permeate social media sites and email.
No comments:
Post a Comment