It may seem like something from the latest action movie: a crazy computer genius breaks into the supposedly secure system and steals classified information from the United States government. While this is a very real problem for our national security tech experts, there is a multitude of everyday information issues that have the potential to affect all computer uses from school teachers entering their grades to high powered business women recalculating quarterly earnings to a six year old boy playing the newest sports game. These dangers include unapproved monitoring of a user’s actions, viewing of a user’s personal files, or stealing of a user’s private files and data. Few people have time to figure out the ins and outs of their complex systems, but with just a little technological savvy, though, anyone can learn to avoid these dangers and keep these cybercriminals out of their computer.
Almost everyone with a computer spends at least a little time “surfing” the World Wide Web. Hackers are capable of accessing a person’s computer and seeing exactly what they see on their screen and what they type in. This may not seem like a big deal, especially if a person is only visiting rated-G websites dedicated to ridding them of boredom, but it is a serious invasion of privacy no matter what. If these assessors happen to be associated with a type of marketing, they can also keep track of what a person buys, but even more devious types are after other information. And, if the surfer happens to enter any passwords, pin numbers, or other information, it falls right into their hands.
Beyond what pops up on the internet, hackers can even take a look at a user’s personal files. These include written documents, saved pictures and videos, and even games. This means that everything from last year’s vacation photos to the guest list for next week’s party is out in the open. These types of files, first, are not meant to be shared unless a user intends such, and, second, can reveal important information that might reveal locations and compromise a person’s safety.
Safety is most highly compromised when hacking, as it often does, leads to the theft of sensitive information. Most often reported is the theft of credit card information. However, birthdates, maiden names, passwords, social security numbers, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses are all free game form those who know how to access another person’s computer. This can lead to identity theft, a difficult problem that can takes months and even years to rectify.
Computer user’s should not, however, leap off their machines. There are a few simply safety measures that can protect anyone’s system and block out those cybercriminals. First, one should always enter their information only in secure site and, second, good antivirus software should be running at all times. Also, passwords should be kept in safe places and never revealed. By doing these simple things, computer users can secure their information, ditch the digital danger, and get back to safely surfing in no time flat.