Don't worry, cyber security guard here to give you some tips!

There are numerous ways to safeguard yourself on the Internet. Be careful when giving out personal information. Just because a website looks legit or your "bank" requests information always check into this first. Banks will never request  users to input personal data through an email. Always remember, it is your personal information and you can decide who you want, and deny who you want to have this info. Be wary of who you chat with online. Just because you think they live a thousands miles away, does not mean this is actually true. I would like to put this on my blog for those of you who play online games. Just because you may think you can say and do as you want because the person your playing with is on a mic and not knowing your location does not mean that person can't find you. This is quoted from my textbook called Cyber Crime Fighters Tales from the Trenches by Felicia Donovan and Kristyn Bernier "In China, a Legend of Mir 3 player is spending the rest of his life behind bars for fatally stabbing another for the "theft" of a virtual sword." This may not be an everyday occurrence, but in reality it can happen. Here's some more tips to stay safe on the web in the following link. https://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy

     After having to try and convince my customers that my company is safe to do business with (hypothetically speaking, a class project) I had come across many businesses that thoughtfully explain their ethical reasoning behind collecting data.  Cookies, everyone loves cookies, for dessert yes, but on your hard disk, not so much. The misconception with cookies is that it is a program that tracks your information that you do over the Internet. With this being false, cookies are just text files that store user information such as your ID number for that store. The web server of that site only stores cookies from that particular site, which can NOT be viewed by any other site.

To view more about cookies, click on the following link. It describes into depth the different ways web sites use cookies. How you can opt out of cookies being stored on your hard disk and why there is a bad reputation for cookies. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm.

      Onto a different topic, identity theft. Considering there are 23,000 victims per day, what are some ways to protect you and your family. Protect important documents, such as social security numbers, bank accounts, and billing information. Always monitor banking accounts and notify your bank immediately when a suspicious transaction appears. Make sure websites that you use credit card information or any personal information that the URL includes an "s" at the end of HTTP. This stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This encrypts data that is transmitted between server and client. I found a useful link with many more ways to prevent identity theft. Unfortunately this girl was a victim of identity theft, however, she was lucky to not have to deal with the damage for years following the incident.  http://studentmoneyskills.bankofamerica.com/article/view.asp?articleID=39