= Safety Tips =

Computer Scams

1. Choose a good password—use a combination of upper- and lower-case numbers and letters. Avoid familiar words and personal numbers such as birth dates.

2. Never give out password information online, even to sites that appear legitimate. A reputable commerce site never needs to know your password.

3. Don’t use the same password for all your online accounts.

4. Don’t open attachments from unknown senders.

5. Install virus and firewall software on your computer and update them on a daily or weekly basis.

6. Only enter sensitive information on a website if you see an encryption icon--usually a padlock or key.

7. The #1 vulnerability is complacency. Be aware of developing internet security issues and take the necessary steps to protect yourself.

Holiday Shopping

1. Park your car close to the stores and in well-lit areas. Take advantage of valet parking for customers if available.

2. Only provide information about yourself on a need-to-know basis. If stores ask for personal information you feel they don’t need don’t give it up!

3. Never discard your credit card receipt’s carbon copy. Thieves can make out the impressions of your card number from the copy.

4. Limit yourself to one shopping bag. Put smaller bags or purchases in one larger bag.

5. Avoid unloading purchases into your car and leaving to continue shopping. If you have to, relocate your car to throw off thieves who may be watching.

6. If you carry a pocketbook with a long strap, wear it around your neck to keep the bag in your sight.

7. Thieves usually target lone shoppers struggling with bags and coats. Shop with others who can watch your things if you have to put them down.

8. Avoid "roadside" or "car trunk" sales where expensive items are offered below value--most are stolen, defective or fake. You have no recourse if you need to make a return.

9. Apartment dwellers returning from a shopping trip should be wary of strangers loitering around their building. Enter your building with a group of people or call for a family member to meet you at the door.

10. Always be aware of your environment and trust your instincts--if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

- From Court TV  site -

Tips to help cut flood of junk e-mails

1. Don't display your e-mail address in public. Spammers use automated tools to collect valid addresses from Web pages, chat rooms and online directories. Consider using a second e-mail address for public correspondence.

2. Consider using software to filter e-mails. Some are free, and some work better than others. Most can be customized to allow personal e-mails from family members, for example, but block many advertisements. The most prominent antivirus vendors are increasingly building spam-filter utilities into their security products.

3. Check a Web site's privacy policy before you submit your e-mail address to see whether it permits the company to share your address with online marketing companies; if it does see whether it's possible to "opt out" from such an arrangement.

4. For years, experts have discouraged Internet users from replying to unwanted e-mails with requests to be removed from future mailings because that verifies that spam was sent to a valid address. Under the new law, however, marketers are required to honor such do-not-send requests after the first unsolicited advertisement.

- From CNN site -

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