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November 05, 2006
Windows XP Exposed (4)
For a number of years, the Windows Operating System has had the reputation of being inferior to other operating systems when discussing user security. Being the most widespread and widely used operating system in the world today, it's easy to see why safety and security amongst window’s users is so important.
This year has been no different; in a recent article , yet again Windows has been scrutinized for its security vulnerabilities with its XP operating system. Security researchers say hackers have published code allowing hackers to disable the XP firewall on computers running the XP system. This would give hackers the opportunity to plant malicious code via the internet.
For consumers, it is always troubling to hear that sensitive information is not always 100% secure when signing on to the internet. AIM, Google, EBAY, Windows, Mac OS X and YahooMail all have become household names across the world, and each one of them relies on premise that they can safety provide their service to their customers. So what can consumers do to help themselves? Here is a short list of what users can do to help protect themsevles when using the internet:
- Do business with reputable companies- Before providing any sensitive information, make sure the company asking for your personal information is an established company.
- Take advantage of security features- If your computer comes with antivirus or firewall software, make sure to keep these programs up to date and running at all times when using the internet. Download any necessary patches as soon as they become available and do not download any unnecessary programs that you think are unsafe.
- Be aware of your account activity- Check your online accounts periodically to make sure that everything is in order. Many times, if personal information has been stolen, checking your accounts is a way to freeze your accounts before a lot of damage is done
- Check Privacy Policies- Yes, this is the fine print that no one spends much time looking over. However, websites must spell out how the information they collect will be used, how the information is encrypted and where the information will likely to be sent. If you find out that your information may be sent without an encryption, you may want to encrypt it yourself before sending it via the internet.
Posted by helefter at November 5, 2006 03:20 PM
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