Keeping Your Information Private

Life is going digital, and in a fast-paced world, Internet safety is becoming a necessary topic of discussion in order to keep your money and personal details private. Here are some basic safety tips to keep in mind while using the Internet at home, at work, and on holidays. 

Internet Safety at Home

• A good anti-virus protection program is the least you need in order to keep safe on the internet, and will protect your computer from harmful viruses.

• Shop around for anti-virus protection, and find out what consumers on the Internet think about your possible choices: Providers will only provide positive reviews, but a quick google search should make you aware of any not-so-pleasant consumer complaints.

• Never provide your banking details, passwords or consumer information through email. Ever. Email is extremely easy to snatch information from, and hence is extremely unsecure.

• Never provide your banking details, passwords or consumer information to someone requesting them from any institution through email. No legitimate institution will ask you to provide details via email, and will always allow you to verify who they are.

• Always virus scan any file that you download from the Internet to your computer before opening or running it. This applies doubly to .exe files.

• Make sure that you are using a personal firewall, whether it is Microsoft Windows firewall or a third-party firewall, and that it is configured properly.

Internet Safety at Work

• Unless you are sure that your workplace internet is secure, do not access your Internet Banking details from your workplace. Most workplaces will have a secure network, but if in doubt, contact your network administrator and ask if it is safe to do your banking from work computers.

• Remember that if you are transferring work between home and work by using a memory stick (USB) , it is a good idea to virus-scan the drive before accessing the information. This will aid in preventing the spread of any viruses between your computers, and greatly reduce the chance of your computer picking up problems.

• Generally speaking, it is a bad idea to download and install new software to your work computer without the knowledge of your network administrator, as this can create problems for the computer systems, and can also allow viruses to sneak into the system unknowingly.

Internet Safety on Holidays

• Though it can be tempting to check your banking details online through paid-internet computers on holiday, you need to be aware of the possible risks in doing so.

• If you have the option of taking a laptop with you in order to do your banking, do so. Accessing your banking through a wireless connection has much lower risks than accessing your banking from a central computer in an Internet cafe. You know what anti-virus protection your computer has, but you do not know how much the cafe does to protect its patrons.

• Remember to change your banking passwords as soon as you get home, or ask a friend to change them from home and tell you the new passwords over the phone. Do not get them to email you your new passwords.

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this section should not be used for individual financial or professional advice. Please seek independent financial or professional advice if you have concerns or specific questions relating to your money and situation.