Okay, so you heard about someone's Credit Card number being stolen, etc., and want to know how it that happened. Or perhaps you wonder about how secure your e-mail really is because you saw that bumper sticker that says, "I read your e-mail". Well, I'm here to tell you about some ways to avoid all that trouble and loss of sleep.

First things first: Learn what is safe and what is not

This may seem a bit obvious, but it is amazing what people do without even thinking about it. People are all worried about using their credit card to pay their bills or buy books from Amazon, yet hand their card to a teenager at a restaurant without even hesitating. Amazon is protected by tens of thousands of dollars in security software and hardware, while only guarantee you have that the kid won't write your number down to buy...who knows what on the Internet, is that he is afraid that someone will see him write the number down.

Second: What NOT to do

Okay, the rules are simple:

1. If someone phones you, asking for information, DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY. If someone claiming to be the police, Mastercard, Ebay, Target, etc, calls you asking for information, ask them for a referral number and tell them you will call them back at the number listed in the phone book or on their website. That way you know you are talking to an actual employee.
2. If someone e-mails you, claiming to be Paypal or Ebay or whoever, asking for you to "update your account information", meaning that you give them your credit card number in a form they sent you, DO NOT FILL IT OUT. NO company will EVER have you fill out information without first visiting their website and logging in. You can call them and ask if you want.

Third, What you SHOULD do

Ebay Users (and others who buy online)

Get a Paypal account. It's easy, fast, and free. It works just like a bank account, it's even FDIC insured. You simply transfer money from your existing bank account to Paypal, and then use that to pay for your auctions or whatever. You can even get a Paypal debit card. But the best part is, if you use Paypal to buy something on Ebay, your purchase is completely covered (up to $500) for fraud. That means, if you don't get your product, you get your money back. That's great. Also, the seller never sees your bank account or credit card info.

Those who e-mail confidential matters

So, you need to send a credit card number or your social security number via e-mail for some valid reason to someone you absolutely trust (such as your dog). That information is not encrypted in transit. In other words, anyone with the proper tools can 'look' at the e-mail as it makes its merry way to the intended recipient. So, you need to encrypt (make secure by putting it in code) your e-mail. There are two ways to do this:

1. You can get a free (or paid) e-mail account from Hushmail.com. It's VERY secure, and web-based. However, the other user should have a hushmail account as well in order to send it secured.
2. You can get PGP (which stands for Pretty Good Privacy, a huge understatement) to encrypt and digitally sign your outgoing mail. There's even a way to send a secure message to someone who doesn't have PGP.

And one last reminder...

Please visit my spyware page for tips on how to get rid of Spyware. Some spyware watches everything you type; this is a security hazard.