Links & Useful info

Ways to Avoid Identity Thieves

Guard your information, online and offline

• While news headlines make identity theft seem like it's mainly an online issue, you should recognise that there are also very real offline dangers.
• Rubbish doesn't always end up in the dump. A recent study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research suggests that you are in greater danger from identity thieves rummaging for important papers in your trash or breaking into your mailbox than from online theft so buy yourself a shredder we use a Fellows PS-67Cs this is a cross cut shredder and is suitable for most small offices, this or a similar product can be purchased at office works and for data security please ensure all old hard drives are returned to the workshop for secure drive destruction 
• Stolen wallets can become stolen identities. The Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Survey Report estimates that 14% of identity theft is a result of stolen wallets, checkbooks, and credit cards.
• Offline precautions. To protect yourself, consider shredding documents containing your personal information, such as account statements, locking your mailbox, and emptying your wallet of anything you don't absolutely have to carry.

Don’t respond to email or phone calls asking for your account information

• Phishing emails. Phishing (fake) emails are made to look like they’re from legitimate companies but are actually from identity thieves. These emails warn you of account problems or other urgent issues in order to trick you into clicking through to a spoof website or calling a fake customer service number.
• Spoof websites. A fake website is meant to mimic a website from a well-known company. It will ask you to enter your user name and password or other account information. Once you do this, you've given your information to someone who might use it to do you harm.
• Genuine emails will never ask for your password or financial information. You should only share information about your account once you’ve logged in to your providers system directly from your browser.
• Phone Calls. Beware of unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from customer service centers and requesting that you provide sensitive personal information. You should hang up and call the number on the company’s website.

Pay safely

• People have become smarter about sharing their banking information but often don't think twice about sharing other sorts of sensitive information during transactions.
• Checks. When paying with a check, you're handing a piece of paper with your bank name, account number, address, and signature to a stranger. Industry analysts report that check fraud is a significant problem.
• Online payment systems. When using online payment systems like PayPal, you get a secure way to complete a transaction so you can pay without the merchant ever seeing your credit card or bank account number. This significantly limits the information that you share in a financial transaction.

Protect your computer

• Software protection. The key to securing your own computer is to use protective software and keep it up to date. Make sure that you install security patches available from the developer of your operating system. Run antivirus software to check incoming emails and update virus definitions frequently. Set up a firewall to prevent intruders from getting into your network or computer.
• Password protection. Always choose strong passwords to protect accounts. Mix upper and lowercase letters. Use symbol characters. Create unique passwords for each one of your accounts.

Stay alert

• Act Quickly. The longer a breach goes undiscovered, the more costly it becomes. According to authorities, your chances of suffering significant financial damage from identity theft are significantly lower if you discover the breach within six months of its occurrence. After six months, you are more likely to lose money or spend hours untangling a truly difficult situation.
• Monitor your accounts frequently and check credit card activity and balances often to look for suspicious activity.

Links

Web Browsers Firefox Opera Internet Explorer Safari Google Chrome		Email Programs Yahoo Mail GMail Hotmail Mobile Me Thunderbird Eudora Opera Email
Social Networking Twitter Facebook LinkedIN YouTube		Computer Hardware Companies Intel Apple Toshiba HP Samsung IBM Lenovo
Browser Tools Shockwave player Real Player Acrobat Reader		Protect your system PC Tools Firewall Plus A free firewall for your system AVG. A free anti-virus program. Windows Defender. Microsoft's spyware checker
Anti Virus Resources Trend Micro Online virus scan tool Virus Bulletin. Rating the top virus scanners. Symantec Anti-virus Research Labs		Spyware Removers SpywareInfo Online spyware scan AVG Free spyware Spybot: Search and Destroy
Email Etiquette Email etiquette rules What Your Sign-off is Really Saying The virtual assistant		Urban Myths and Virus Hoaxes Snopes: The Urban Legends Reference The Virus Myths Page About's Urban Legends and Folklore
Spam Protection SpamPal. A free spam cleaner. Mailwasher. Catch the spam before it gets to you. How to avoid spam.		Cleanup Tools CleanUp! A quick and easy Windows cleaner CCleaner: Comprehensive cleanup for Windows Maintenance: Apple OSX cleaning tool
Family Internet advice sites Net Alert Federal government safe site Kidsmart Project		Kids Search Engines Kids Net Ask for Kids Yahooligans!
Homework Sites The Awesome Library BBC Schools Cybersleuth		Educational Sites Matheletics. Inspiring better results The Australian Museum National Geographic
Kids Help Lines Kids Help Line Bullying No Way Reach Out		Search Engines Google Yahoo Alta Vista
Legal Music Sites Bigpond Music iTunes		Business Tools Cute PDF writer. A free PDF creating tool Whats in a name. Check the cost of a domain Synctoy. Synchronise your laptop and desktop computers.
Office Replacements Open Office 602 Office Google Apps		Protect yourself ACCC Consumer Protection Identity Fraud Awareness Week Auscert: Australian Computer Emergency Response Team
Voice Over IP Skype Voipbuster Freshtel		Computer Education Sydney Community College Centre for Continuing Education Sydney WEA
Technology recycling Recycling Near You Mobile Muster. Phone recycling program. Byte Back Australia. Byteback Australia		Small Business Links Smart Company Flying Solo. Flying Solo Small Enterprise Telecommunications
Online shopping tips Internet shopping tips. NSW Department of Fair Trading Ebay Security Centre.		Software Download Sites Planet Mirror Download.com TUCOWS
		http://www.shrinktheweb.com/advertise/