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Summerland Credit Union is committed to utilising effective security measures internally and actively supports the Australian Government's fight to promote E-Security Awareness. With an increasing number of Australians using computers in their everyday lives, there is a growing need to be aware of the potential risks associated with online security and the protection which should be put in place to give you peace of mind. E-Security Awareness is an Australian Government initiative aimed at helping Australians understand e-security risks and educate home and small business users about the simple steps you can take to protect yourself, your family and your business online. The 5 simple steps to better online security are:
As stated above, the Australian Government has an excellent website that provides detailed information on the latest fraud prevention methods - www.staysmartonline.gov.au Increasing your Computer's Security With internet fraud becoming more and more prevalent, protecting yourself whilst using the net has become a necessity. If you compare internet banking to a castle, fraudsters are unable to breach the defenses directly, so they will try and intercept you when you enter the castle. Phishing scams may be used to imitate the castle, tricking you into giving your access codes away, and Trojan viruses eavesdrop for the purpose of obtaining your access codes as you enter. Therefore you need to protect your computer which is your entry point to the castle. Listed below are five things you can do to increase your computers security:
By increasing your computers security, you can dramatically decrease the chance of fraud.
Every day, new security holes are found in Microsoft Windows that may allow a hacker to attack your computer. Updating your operating system on a regular basis helps close these security holes. The simples way to update windows is to open Internet Explorer and select Windows Update from the TOOLS menu and follow the instruction given by the website. Note: Be aware that some updates can be large and if you are using a dial-up service to connect to the internet, these updates could take a while to install.
A virus is a man made, self replicating program or piece of code that is loaded and runs on your computer without your knowledge or consent. Not all viruses are destructive, but some can:
The last one listed here, the keylogger, is a high security risk. The keylogger software records all keystrokes from the keyboard before sending them out on the internet. These keystrokes could be anything you enter on your keyboard, including personal details, passwords and credit card details. Installing anti-virus software and keeping it up-to-date can minimise the chance of virus activity on your computer. The important step here is to make sure your virus software is up to date . Most anti-virus software automatically updates its list of viruses, enabling it to catch the latest viruses before they can infect your computer. You should always let your anti-virus software scan your computers hardrive periodically to find any viruses already hidden on your computer. Some popular anti-virus software are listed below:
Online virus scanners work by installing a scanning engine directly into your internet browser to scan your computer. Modern browsers ask your permission before allowing the installation of these browser add-ons. Spyware secretly collects user information through your Internet connection without your knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. This may include passwords and credit card details. The majority of Spyware is installed as a hidden component of some freeware/shareware programs downloaded from the internet. Some popular anti-spyware software is listed below:
Anti-Spyware also needs to constantly update its database if it is to work effectivly at catching spyware. A Firewall is simply a security program that monitors all access to your computer from outside sources. The firewall has a list of safe programs that are allowed through, while all other access is denied. When a program tries to get through the firewall, it will usually ask the user as to whether or not this is allowed. Each time this occurs, the firewalls list is updated with the users decision and it learns what software is allowed in and which is not. Some firewall software only monitors access into the computer, leaving rouge software already on your computer to communicate with the outside world. Good firewall software monitors all access entering or leaving your computer. Some popular firewall software is listed below:
If you are running windows XP or Vista, you are probably already running a firewall, as Windows XP/Vista has a firewall built-in. To see if this is active (and enable/disable the firewall), open the Security Centre under Control Panel. Note: If you install new firewall software, you should always turn off the built-in firewall supplied by windows, as running two firewalls can cause problems. Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your identity. In phishing scams, scam artists try to get you to disclose valuable personal data—like credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information—by convincing you to provide it under false pretenses. Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information, this includes emails asking you to log onto a website to verify your passwords. Here are two examples of email Phishing scams: “We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.” “During our regular verification of accounts, we couldn’t verify your information. Please click here to update and verify your information.” Clicking on the links provided in the email would take you to a fake website that imitates the real world site. Some of these fake sites look identical to the real site. If you were to enter your details on these fake sites, the scam artists would have your personal details. You should always type the web address yourself, or Google it instead to avoid these fake websites. Legitimate businesses would not use email for such personal dealings, and they would never ask you for your password. Some good websites with advice on Phishing scams and Spam can be found below: As more people use email, marketers are increasingly using email messages to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email - also known as "spam" - annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers that arrived in their email in-box. People who sent spam (Spammers) usually get your email address from websites or from entering your email address on a website such as registering online for software downloads or to join a free website. Spammers mass email to thousands of email addresses at once at very little cost, in the hope that a small percentage of people will go ahead and respond. The senders address is never legitimate, so tracing it is not usually an option. You should never use the unsubscribe option spam emails may contain, as responding to be unsubscribed simply informs the spammer that your email address is a working address and they usually spam you more! Spam blocker software works by stopping what it knows is spam, or trying to guess what is spam by the content. Spammers get around this by misspelling words that would normally indicate a spam message eg: Viagra might be spelled VdIAGRA Some spam can contain viruses and other malicious software, so it’s a good idea to never open email or attachments that your not sure of. |
Australian Government - Fighting Internet Fraud
