Internet and Email Safety
Using the Internet
The Internet is a big and wonderful place, and growing bigger by leaps and bounds every day. We’re
using the Internet more and more every day, in more and more ways. We use the Internet to
communicate, run businesses, shop, manage finances, be entertained, attend school, create
opportunity, and countless other things. But be aware that when you’re big, you attract attention.
Unfortunately, not only good, righteous people use the Internet to create opportunity. Countless
individuals and criminal organizations throughout the world look for ways to use the internet to take
advantage of individuals and companies to steal their money, identity, stability, and peace of mind.
They use many ways to do this. They use convincing, but false webpages, convincing, but false e-mails,
holes in your antivirus or network setup, and your impulses and emotions in such a way that one can
open the door for criminals without realizing it until it is too late.
So, Internet use can be equated with driving a car, in that one’s behavior on the Internet can endanger
not only themselves, but others. So it is essential that those who use the Internet are educated as to
how to use it safely and wisely.
This is a laundry list of considerations regarding use of the Internet, and internet services, such as email
and social media. This includes advice for both adults and children.
The information is purposely mostly presented as bullet points, as most of these points are easily
understood in this form, and this is a very broad subject to over in great detail. Feel free to inquire, and
I will be glad to elaborate on any given topic within this writing.
Safe Surfing
Prerequisites:
 Use a GOOD full-time, always-on Antivirus Suite. This is a MUST, even if you have a Mac.
 Only use one always-on antivirus as multiple antivirus products will conflict with one another.
 Comcast and ATT currently offer either Norton or MacAfee, which are both OK.
 However, I advise Kaspersky Internet Security, Bitlocker, or another highly rated Antivirus.
 Many antivirus suites have an anti-spyware component. Know your Antivirus, and add an
additional Anti-spyware if necessary.
 Antispyware, like Spybot S&D and Superantispyware are free anti-spyware products that are
very good at what they do. Be sure to learn how to best use them.
Passwords
Going through the trouble of managing passwords is a necessary evil that is increasingly important as
internet use increases. There are various ways to do this, including utilities that will securely store your
passwords for you, and different personal systems you can develop to keep track of your passwords.
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Use passwords for all accounts that are easy for you to remember, but very difficult for anyone
else (including computers) to guess, and don’t share your passwords with anyone.
A good rule to follow when creating a password is having at least 8 characters, mixing capitol
and small letters with at least one number and/or special character (for example, #, @, $ %,
etc.)
Avoid using passwords that integrate or mimic your username. That’s where the bad guys will
start when trying to break into your accounts.
Avoid using other significant information easily obtained, like children’s names, your address or
phone number, birthdays of immediate family members, names of employers, etc…
Firewall
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Be sure you have a (single) firewall installed and active on your computer. Many antivirus suites
have their own firewall. If your antivirus does have its own, be sure, if you have a Windows
computer, to turn off Windows Firewall.
Network
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Be sure to understand the devices that make up your network, and what purposes they serve.
If you don’t know, ask someone who does. This information will be invaluable for many
reasons.
Even if you have a single computer, avoid plugging directly into a dedicated modem, as it will
not provide the necessary intrusion protection. Instead, purchase and use a router (it won’t
cost much), which will help (in many ways) protect you from prying eyes and nefarious crooks.
Use a required Passcode for your home wireless network (see Passwords).
Change your router password to avoid street-side bad-guys from breaking into your network.
Kids… Inquisitive and Curious
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Check with your Internet provider for online safety and/or filtering tools and parental controls,
and learn how to use them.
o Families with young kids should use OPENDNS or another method to filter sites.
Train your kids how to use the computer and the internet.
Set up easy access to kid-safe search engines like askkids.com or kids.yahoo.com
Instruct your kids not offer names, address, locations, phone numbers, pictures, etc. Offer only
the screen name.
Never allow kids to meet in person anyone they met in a chat room.
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Better yet, kids should avoid chat rooms altogether.
Kids should only surf in common areas where they can be monitored.
Make bookmarks or shortcuts for sites the kids should be able to visit. This avoids typing or
mistyping web addresses, which often leads to unintended or inappropriate sites.
Ask you kids about their surfing, and have open ears if you kids mention their online
experiences. Some may be questionable.
Adults… Demand Variety and Freedom
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Be alert and careful.
With freedom comes responsibility. That said, first and foremost, be sure your antivirus is
present and up to date.
Be extra careful on sites with which you are not very familiar.
o Links should lead to addresses that make sense in terms of the original page.
 You can hover over a link to see below to where it will lead you.
Be aware that:
o Legitimate sites which handle sensitive transaction and/or info should be preceded with
a green Padlock and HTTPS, not HTTP, once you log in. HTTPS sites are encrypted so
the info cannot be read except with private keys known only to the site and browser. If
you are at a page asking for that kind of info, and it doesn’t have a HTTPS address, do
not enter the information.
If your browser isn’t working right, or you are redirected to sites you weren’t intending, STOP.
You may be infected.
Don’t go online if you think you may be infected. Immediately run your Antivirus. If you can’t
run you antivirus or strange behavior is exhibited on the computer, disconnect from the internet
immediately by unplugging it from the network both wirelessly and wired, and take steps to
disinfect the computer.
Be aware that legitimate sites will never ask for Credit Card Numbers unless they are in your
customer info sections or a purchase sections of a site.
Sites will only in extremely rare cases ask for your social security number. Be absolutely certain
you are in the right place, and then still feel uneasy about it.
Avoid features that save personal information or login information for convenience. This info is
stored in cookies on your computer, and spyware can pass this information onto criminals.
Dangerous places
The following types of places offer internet access to the public. In other words, you can’t trust with
whom you are sharing the network. Be very cautious using these networks. It is especially
important with these networks to keep personal info to yourself online unless you absolutely trust
the site.
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Hotels
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Business Centers
Public WIFI Hot Spots
Public Computers
Email
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Be aware of Phishing. Statistic: 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Many
attempts are made to fool you with emails and sites that seem legitimate enough to lure you
into giving up enough info to make your hard-earned money and reputation subject to the
whims of criminals.
Don’t act on impulse. Impulse is often leveraged to encourage dangerous behavior. The
number of spoofs that look like they’re coming from companies you trust has markedly
increased over the past year. Be very wary if an offer seems to be too good to be true. It most
likely is.
Use your email’s preview function to look at your emails before you open them. Both
Outlook and MacMail have preview panes, and now Gmail does too. You can enable Gmail
preview in the Labs section of the main Gmail window. You can then configure it from the main
screen tool bar. If you use another email application, investigate whether a Preview function is
available, and use it if it is.
In short, never click a link without knowing where it will actually lead you. Instead, preview links
in your incoming emails, even from friends who may be victims of a virus or a hijacked email
account. To do this, in your browser hover over the link in question and look to the bottom line
of your browser to see to where it leads. It should lead to an address that makes perfect sense
in relation to what you would expect. If it is at all questionable, avoid it
Be very careful when opening attachments in emails, and unless you know and trust the source,
and the attachment makes perfect sense. If you are not certain about the source or nature of
the attachment, just delete the email. It is always OK to contact the sender to ensure the
validity of the email.
Beware of Emails from vendors or financial institutions that ask you to provide info and/or offer
a link to do so. They are most likely imposters looking for your login information so they can
steal your money and/or identity.
Use an email address that does not give away your identity, address, etc…
Avoid using email addresses that can be provocative or may attract attention from bad guys.
Consider using multiple email addresses.
o Consider one only for those close to you.
o One for online purchases and vendors.
o One for times when you need to enter an email address but never intend to visit again.
Gmail is free.
Types of Emails
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Phishing – imposters asking for info or directing you to a site to provide personal info.
SPAM – email garbage
 Use the anti-spam tools that come with your email and/or security software.
o Some can be “trained” to be more accurate. Take the time to train them.
 Chain Emails
o Many of these are scams.
Ways to avoid trouble
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Be aware of bad types of email.
Never share personal info over email, use the phone.
Never send login usernames or passwords with email. Use the phone.
If you forward an email, copy the contents to another email or be sure to remove all the prior
recipients from the email before sending. This is a common courtesy, and is easily overlooked.
Instant Messaging and Social Media
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Choose a screen name that doesn’t give away your personal information.
Avoid showing emotional sensitivities online. They could be used against you.
A “friend” is a stranger unless you already know them. Remember that.
Be Very Careful with whom you exchange photos or documents.
Keep in mind the things you receive could be infected, or actually sent from a criminal.
If you receive something that doesn’t make sense (a link, an attachment or instructions),
consider it dangerous, and delete it.
Keep your friend or buddy list manageable, and only allow people in who you know already and
trust.