Keep Cyber Crime at Bay: AVG

AVG Technologies has warned that cyber criminals watch out for opportunities
such as holidays and festive occasions, which they piggy-back in order to lure
victims to their malicious websites. Roger Thompson, Chief Research Officer at
AVG, commented, "During the festive season, many websites are set up claiming to
offer top gifts at market-leading prices. Shoppers often fail to check the
authenticity of these retailers, and end up handing money over to a website
which simply vanishes a few weeks later."

To help users remain safe while using the Internet, the company has produced
a list of six top tips to avoid being the victim of scammers:

Think before you link: Employ a URL scanning tool to ensure you don't click
on links that lead to infected Web pages. The time to find out whether a page is
bad is before you load it into your Web browser-AVG LinkScanner does this. It's
free, and it works with all other security and anti-virus offerings.

Look for the 'S': Make sure the websites you are purchasing from are secure
and have 'https' in the URL when you are in their checkout/purchase process. The
's' ensures security. When you are in the secure section of a website, you will
also see an icon of a locked padlock on your browser, either on the address bar
or on the bottom right corner.

Stay current on security software: This means making sure you have the latest
virus protection software updates from your security software provider. It is
important because the bad guys move around frequently, but security software
companies are working to stay one step ahead of them. If you are up-to-date, you
are staying one step ahead, too.

Keep your private information private: When shopping online, create a
separate e-mail account that is just for shopping. Use a unique password,
different from any other accounts you have. Your dedicated shopping e-mail
account should be in no way affiliated with your personal, everyday e-mail
account. Also, keep records of your online shopping-print confirmation pages and
e-mail confirmations.

Mix up your passwords: Each shopping account, bank account, credit card
account, and e-mail account should have a unique password. Write them down and
keep the information in a secure location. Unique passwords for each account
make it tougher for a thief to steal your personal information.

Use common sense: Make sure you use reasonable judgement when buying online
and be on the lookout for spoof stores. If an offer seems too good to be true,
it probably is. Take a minute or two to make sure it's not a fake/spoof website.
If the online retailer doesn't provide a physical address, or contact phone
numbers, be cautious. Make sure you understand the refund and return policies of
any online retailer you are planning to buy from, especially if it's based
overseas, just in case something were to go wrong.

DQC News Bureau