Information Security Awareness - Article

Avoid the dark side of Online shopping this Christmas

The holiday season presents us the opportunity for time with family, friends, travel, shopping and social gatherings. Regardless of the efforts put into early preparations, it's inevitable it might end up descending into a mad rush and will rely on the power of the internet and its gadgets including smart phones, tablets, and laptops to see us through the last minute festive purchases. Global dependence on the internet and its technology continues to increase on a daily basis and it is predictable billions of Christmas shoppers will be connected over the festive period. A recent research by eDigitalResearch and !RG found that about ""# of $martphone users plan to do some of their Christmas shopping online, with more than half planning to purchase more Christmas items with their portable device than they did in the previous year. %&# of some ',((( online consumers also admitted to shopping online during the season, with ")# purchasing at least half of their Christmas food and gift shopping over the internet. The results of the research highlight the growth, demand and dependence on the internet. *owever, this dependence also comes with a greater ris+, vulnerabilities, as well as opportunities. Cyber criminals ta+e advantage of the busy festive period to e,ploit the internet for vulnerable victims- hence the need to apply the best information security practices during the festive period. .efore you clic+ to buy that /must have0 item on the Christmas shopping list or e,change holiday greetings online, chec+ out the following tips to avoid becoming a victim of cyber crime. 1ou are encouraged to discuss these tips with your children as well as other relatives and friends. Keep your internet gadgets up to date. !a+e sure the operating systems and other software or applications including antivirus software are updated on all of your internet gadgets 2$mart phones, Tablets, 3aptops, and 4C's5. The best way to do this is to ma+e sure all trusted software installed on your device is running and receiving automatic updates. 6hile it is true that update notifications can be irritating, yet it is important all your applications remain up to date. *ac+ers often ta+e
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Information Security Awareness - Article advantage of software wea+nesses to smuggle malwares onto your gadget via e,ploits. Therefore regular software update can help prevent this.
748RAT 9G $1$T8!$ .R76$8R$ A9T ;< R=$ 7T*8R Windows operating systems, Mac, Ubuntu Chrome, :irefo,, 7pera, nternet 8,plorer 9orton, !acAfee, >aspers+y, .ulldog Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe :lash 4layer, ?ava Runtime, @uic+Time <ideo player, <3C, iTunes, 6indows !edia player

Watch out for fake websites and scams. 6ebsites can easily be cloned- doing this does not reAuire a s+illed developer to do so. :a+e websites are used by scammers, to lure you into purchasing goods that will never turn up at your doorstep and also to harvest both credit card and ban+ details. These sites loo+ very real and are normally difficult to differentiate from the original site. .elow are few tips to help you spot fa+e websites. 3oo+ out for the followingB .efore entering any personal information including ban+ details, ma+e sure your internet browser is showing a little padloc+ sign ne,t to the address bar, and also chec+ that the address starts with figure below and not

https://

as shown in

http://. Do not enter any personal details if these signs are

missing, because there is no guarantee your information is safe.

3oo+ out for the correct =R3 ; Chec+ the address in your internet browser's address bar and be sure it matches the site you intended to visit. 8,ampleB "www.baclays.com" instead of "www.barclays.com".

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Information Security Awareness - Article .e wary of websites that are advertised in unsolicited emails from strangers and trust your instinct if a deal is too good to be true. Avoid scams and fraud. Do not ever give out financial information or personal information over email or te,t. 9ever reply to suspicious loo+ing email. .e aware a ban+ would never send an email claiming your account security has been breached, or as+ing to confirm security details such as passwords or pin numbers. Report any suspicion to the law enforcement agencies Use a secure password and password-protect your devices. =sing a 4assword is one of the simplest steps to ta+e in securing information systems including mobile devices and computers. Recent high profile intrusion into $ony 4lay$tation and Adobe systems showed that many people spend less time on creating secure passwords. 4asswords li+e CD'E"F&C proved to be come among those whose information were stolen from the Adobe system. Regardless of the system, whether it is your device, windows login, website login or email account, ma+e sure you always use secure passwords. A secure password should consist of the followingB Alphanumeric characters and should be at least eight characters long. The password must contain an uppercase, a number, and a special character. Avoid using commonly used words and names, but Gust in case you have to, convert them to be secure. :or e,ample am going to convert my name "Edem a secure password. "3

Boni" to

3m!B"n#".

t is also advisable to use different passwords for different accounts to protect them further.

Do not reply to Pop-upsB f a window open promising you a gift or cash in return for you answering a Auestion or ta+ing part in a survey, close it by pressing Control H :" on a 6indows machines and Command H 6 on a !ac machine. Do not use public computers or public wireless internet for your shopping online: 4ublic computers may contain malicious software that obtains credit card information when placing an order. Criminals may also intercept traffic on public wireless networ+s to acAuire credit card numbers and other information.

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Information Security Awareness - Article Pay by redit card and not Debit card: $hopping on the nternet in the safest way possible is by using Credit cards rather Debit cards. Credit cards are protected by the :air Credit .illing Act and reduce your liability, if your information is used wrongfully. Print or save all online transactions: 4rinting or saving all your online transactions, including the online receipt 2which should include product description and price5 and the correspondence sent between the seller and buyer. Always chec+ credit card statements as soon as they arrive to confirm the transactions are correct. f not contact the credit card company immediately to clarify the charges and for proper action to be ta+en where reAuired. Understand the Privacy policies: 4rivacy policies are available on most online merchantsIwebsites, and review what information is collected, how it will be stored and used and if the information will be shared with other parties. $ow to sol%e problems with online shopping sites& Contact the site operator or seller directly to find a resolution. Also search for more detailed information on the following lin+sB
httpBIIwww.getsafeonline.orgI httpBIIwww.bbc.co.u+IcbbcItopicsIstay;safe

httpsBIIwww.thepaypalblog.comI'(D'ID(Iprotect;yourself;from;cyber;crime;this; holiday;shopping;season
httpBIIwww.ftc.govIopaI'(DDIDDIholidayshopping.shtm

httpBIIwww.dailydealmedia.comIJ)%online;shopping;e,pected;to;rise;nearly;DJ;this; holiday;seasonI :or more information on cyber security, feel free to contact me via emailB edem+ofiboniKgmail.com or boniLedemKyahoo.com.

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