Internet shopping leaves footprint trail for hackers

Devang Joshi

Webmaster

Devang JoshiThe Internet and your money; it’s a concept that is far from new. Only a few years ago, the thought of putting your credit card number into a Web page was, well, frightening. However, look around now and we do everything from day-to-day banking to purchasing online. 

This combination of two worlds is indeed useful, heck it’s just plain convenient! However, as with many convenient things in the world of computing, there is always a downside.In this case, the downside is the very real threat of having your personal information taken from you. 

So, because you are all good people, let me share just a few things with you that may help you avoid having your hard-earned dollars squandered away by a geek with an attitude problem (a hacker, that is).

First and foremost, try to handle all of your online banking or shopping on your own computers.

This means staying away from the computer labs to get your “E-Bay” fix. Every time you use a public computer, you have to keep two things in mind; that you are leaving an electronic footprint and that there are bad people out there who may be logging activity on the machine. 

So, the best way to avoid trouble is to never put yourself in that situation.

However, if there ever is the urgent need to log on to your online banking, do a couple of things. 

First, make sure you uncheck any boxes that want to “save your username;” why give someone the leg up? 

Also, try using “in-private browsing,” a feature integrated into many modern browsers that does not keep a record of your browsing history. 

Finally, make sure to log off. As silly as it may sound, it happens a lot more then you may think (just think about how many times you have left your Facebook logged in only to come back to see a new status…courtesy of a friend/roommate).

Another good habit to pick up is reading URL’s. The URL is simply the address you type into a web browser to get to a Web page. An easy example is the URL for The Johnsonian’s website, http://www.mytjnow.com. 

Now, for the most part, website addresses start with the normal http://, however e-mail systems and bank websites have the https:// designation. That https:// stands for a secure connection, and is also accompanied with a “padlock” icon in most browsers. 

Make sure to look for this type of URL prefix when navigating to your e-mail log-ins or bank log-ins (a good example of a secure connection would be the student access of the Winthrop e-mail system pobox.winthrop.edu). 

Finally, make sure you type the address correctly.

So, as we go about our lives using our online banking and shopping to the max, remember to exercise some caution; heck, be a little paranoid. Think I’m just blowing smoke? Well, its your money.