By Mandy Feder —
So many of my friends, family members, business contacts and acquaintances are drug dealers, get-rich-quick peddlers and scam artists, or so it seems.
The thing is I am not into drugs.
When I think of get-rich-quick schemes, I think of Ralph Kramden, Jackie Gleason”s character on the old television show The Honeymooners.
Furthermore I like Internet spam about as much as I like the potted meat product Spam — not at all.
What accompanies dangerous behaviors?
All too often, the spread of disease. Before you know it, you”re hit with a really nasty virus that can shut everything down, sometimes even kill the whole system.
“Are you really trying to sell me Viagra?” I asked my daughter, Miranda, about a month ago.
From the other end of the phone line I could hear a heavy sigh. I could almost see her eyes rolling back, right through the phone. “Very funny, mom, I got hacked.”
I told her to change her password immediately. I change mine, just for good measure, about once a week and at least once a month.
Do not use common passwords.
The most commonly used passwords according to Time Techland are: password, 123456, 12345678, qwerty, abc123, monkey, 1234567, letmein, trustno1 and dragon. If your password is on that list, change it.
One of the best ways to avoid hackers is to avoid opening links and answering emails by providing personal information.
Remember, no reputable company, person or business will ask you for your Social Security number or computer password via email.
In the past three weeks about 10 people who regularly submit articles to Lake County Publishing were hacked. When I saw the telltale signs, I called them.
“It”s so embarrassing. I always thought I was so careful. I don”t even know how it happened,” one woman told me.
If you receive an email with a blank subject line and you open it to find only a link without a message, do not open the link.
The same is true if the message is impersonal and generic.
Social media sites are breeding grounds for bugs or viruses.
There are loads of applications for games and ways to connect with people that will bring you to another URL.
There are also endless links.
So watch the line on your computer that begins with www. Note where the link has taken you.
A common virus is also spread through the guise of an anti-virus.
A shocking graphic appears on the screen, typically with lights and bright colors, warning that if you do not “click here,” you will get a virus.
Do not do it. It is the virus.
Scams on your computer can follow you and rip you off by impacting other technology.
Miranda got duped last summer. She was doing a web search for the purpose of comparing car insurance rates. Apparently when she keyed in her cell phone number, a company or person phishing, charged services to her cell phone account. Some of the amounts were just a dollar or two and wouldn”t raise eyebrows. But the next month the bill increased exponentially. The cell phone carrier was able to reverse the charges and identify the source of the problem, fortunately.
To learn more about computer scams and to protect yourself against them, visit www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/computer_protect.
The information superhighway is a wonderful road, mostly. Keep your eyes open, stay hyper-vigilant and travel with caution and care.
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee managing editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32.
