 |
 |
|
Simple Steps For Personal Security on the Internet
Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Posted: 17:15 PM (EST)
A lot of websites offer tools or services in exchange for membership. But membership
usually requires submitting some form of contact information, whether it be an e-mail address or as critical as your personal
street address. Hopefully these tips will help you to better protect yourself on the internet.
Take a look around the website.
The first thing to do is to probe and poke around
the site. Browse it as an unregistered user to see if you can
access information about the members. If you can contact one
of the members by e-mail without having to login, then you can
bet your bottom dollar that others can see that information
as well, including spam bots and e-mail harvesting programs.
Many sites give members the option to not be contacted by nonmembers.
If you are unsure whether members have this option then request
more information from the site owner before you sign up.
Who are these people?
I always have a look around to see if I can find site ownership
information. If they don't say who they are in plain text then
I take that as an alert to be careful. Where are they from?
Do they have a privacy policy ? Do they provide public
access to a general contact form? If website essentials are
not accessible then what does that say about the site owners?
What are they trying to hide?
Is their request reasonable?
Websites should only request information which is necessary
to complete the task at hand. For example, if you are a massage
therapist who intends to subscribe to a listing service, then
you really shouldn't be asked to submit your home phone number
and street address, but only your business information. Ask
yourself "why do they need this information" before
submitting any unecessary details.
Does this site protect its members?
Many outdated listing services leave business and personal e-mail
addresses in plain view, with the shortsighted intention of
allowing potential clients to contact that business using a
desktop e-mail program such as Outlook Express or Eudora. But
that method only facilitates spam. Reputable sites will protect
their members by hiding e-mail addresses in a secure database.
These are some of the more obvious things you should notice
before subscribing for membership at any website. Read their
terms of use agreement. Read their privacy policies. Send them
a message and ask them point blank if their security has ever
been breached and if so, what steps have they taken to correct
the issue.
Take charge of your personal security on the internet. The responsibility
is ultimately your own.
Ron Poole is the managing editor of Hair Say Headlines and Hair Say Newsroom.
Copyright 2005 Beauty By Us Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|
Hair Say Newsroom : RSS Feed Item3 _ Feb 16/05
