by Nicholas Ward

Created on: June 08, 2010   Last Updated: June 09, 2010

Everyone has something they would just rather the rest of the world not know, from things like your social security numbers to bank information to simple pictures which may not have been taken in the best of light if seen by certain parties. For many Hackers and scammers alike, this information is invaluable; this is exactly the kind of stuff they are after.

In the last 20 years since the world wide web was initially created, identity theft has increased substantially. This is partially due to having so much information available over the web. People steal your identity through programs and scams such as keyloggers, phising sites, Trojan viruses, and packet interception (also called packet sniffing). So the question is. What can you do to keep your personal information personal?

To answer that question, let's look at each of these methods, go over how they are used, and what you can do to stop them.

Keyloggers, and trojan viruses are programs which log your keystrokes or take screen shots to obtain information such as passwords, credit card information, your name, addresses, friends E-mail addresses, and even your social if you use it often.

So how do Keyloggers, and trojans get on your computer?

There are many ways in which you can get a keylogger. The most prominent is the downloading of illegal software or music. Using sites such as limewire and other P2P (Person to Person) sharing zones can quickly let a virus right in the front door.

The second is through security holes in your Operating System, and far less often, but not impossible. Guests who you allow to use your computer can install the key logger to spy on you. So how do you block all these holes in your computers security?

Security holes in Windows can be closed by enabling the windows firewall. Do not allow applications you don't recognize to access the Internet. Another important thing to do is to make sure windows is up to date with all the security hot fixes. Disable any Services you don't need. I know this sounds like a lot but most of this is done automatically when you install windows.

Don't turn off automatic updates for windows or you may get behind and end up with a worm. Don't download from sites or programs like limewire/bittorent. If you do download files from them, install a good current virus scanner and set it to update automatically.

Scan each and every file before you open it. This doesn't guarantee you won't get a nasty bug but it does help prevent it. Don't ignore seemingly false

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>