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Why should you be careful on the Internet?
- Criminals and hackers use the Internet to attack computers, trick people into revealing valuable information (personal, financial, etc.), and steal passwords.
- It can be difficult to know if someone is telling the truth on the Internet.
- You could expose yourself or others to identity theft.
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What should you do?
- Don't provide personal or sensitive information to Internet sites, surveys or forms unless you are using a trusted, secure web page. Look for "https" (not http) in the web address (URL) and a padlock icon
in the corner of the page that asks you to input personal, financial or other sensitive information.
- Don’t give sensitive personal, financial, log-in, business, system or network information to anyone you don’t know (in person, over the phone, via e-mail or the Internet), or who doesn’t have a legitimate need for it.
- Just opening a malicious web page can infect a poorly protected computer. Be aware of where you are going before clicking on a web link. When in doubt, instead of clicking on an unknown or unsolicited link, look up the web site on your own and go there independently.
- Don’t click on links in pop-up ads or windows. Use your web browser’s pop-up blocker, if it has one, to help prevent these ads from getting through.
- Be extremely careful with file sharing software. Free files and software can contain viruses, spyware, and other malicious programs that can infect your computer. See Cyber Security Basics: Don't Download Unknown or Unsolicited Programs or Files for additional information.
Additional things you can do to avoid identity theft
GETTING HELP:
Contact the ITS Support Center or your ITS Divisional Liaison with questions or concerns about any of this information.
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