Understanding the seriousness of identity theft

• If a hacker gets an access to any of your personal information, he will have the ability to buy, sell, or trade on your behalf.
• If a hacker gets an access to your Internet connection, you can get in trouble for actions taking place since it is your connection.

Have a secure password

• Choose a password that is difficult for another person to guess.
• Do not use things such as your name or names of those close to you, your birthday or birthdays of those close to you, pet's names, or numbers related to you (social security number or mix of birthday and SSN).
• Do not give out your username and password to others.
• Do not keep a copy of usernames and passwords in a location where someone can gain access to it.

Protect your personal information

• Shred documents that contain personal information.
• Do not access private information on public computers.
• Do not give out personal information on a website unless:
  • It is secure (HTTPS)
  • Reputable company

Steps to help secure your wireless connection

• Use a broadband router to share your Internet connection rather than connecting directly to the Internet.
• Use encryption on your wireless network connection.
• Change your wireless encryption key on a regular basis.
• Run Trojan horse detection & removal tools on each and every computer on your wireless network.

Last but not least…consider a personal firewall

• Block hackers out and keep your personal data safe with a personal firewall.
• The personal firewalls can hide your PC on the Internet and block any irregular connections. It can also help protect your personal confidential information from being sent out without your permission.