Important Info
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Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 6,773
Likes: 7
From: On the road in Ohio
Important Info
If you use Bear share or one of the many music sharing down loads, your private info is at risk, things like taxes and fiinacial detail can easily be found and copied by anyone .
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in692765.shtml
Ten Tips From A Privacy Vigilante
May 3, 2005
(CBS) "Jeff from Sacramento" advises people follow these tips to better protect themselves from file-sharing fraud.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in692778.shtml
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1. Print out the tax document on paper and/or save a copy onto a CD or floppy disk, then delete it off your computer.
2. If you're going to leave the sharing program on your computer, be very sure of what it is sharing. Perhaps create a shared folder on your desktop and allow the sharing program only access to that. All downloaded files go into and out of that file only.
3. Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. Sign up for the fraud alert program. They will watch the Social Security numbers given to them for 90 days and alert the person if credit is applied for in the timeframe when a credit check is done.
4. Ask that a password be added to or in place of a Social Security number as an ID check when dealing with companies. Some companies will ask for the last four digits of a Social Security number as a form of ID checking to insure who they are talking to. Adding a password or using a password instead provides better security.
5. Watch the postal mail to make sure it isn't being stolen. People may try and steal mail for credit card offers and other information, especially now that they would have the name address and Social Security number from the tax form.
6. Watch what goes out in the trash - no names, addresses, phone numbers or other identifiable information. Anything with possible personal information on it needs to be shredded into tiny pieces.
7 People should get a regular credit report on themselves, just to make sure the information there is correct and to watch for signs of identity theft.
8. If you had your tax refund directly deposited to your checking or savings account, get that account changed as quickly as possible. Because it has the routing and account number on the tax form, money could be spent directly out of the account over the Internet 24 hours a day.
9. Go to Yahoo's or Google's Web sites and search for "identity theft." This will bring up sites that people can go to which will tell them more about identity theft, like what it is, how it occurs and more ways to protect their personal information. These sites will also offer information about where to go and how to report when something does happen.
10. If you keep the file-sharing program, use it to search for your tax file to see if anyone out there is sharing it after it is off your computer. In some cases, and with some sharing programs, it is possible to see who it is and to help law enforcement in tracking down the potential identity thief
As CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports, file sharing today is the rage on the Internet, mostly because of users who want to share songs. But because file sharing literally opens your computer to outsiders it can also lead to snooping. All Jeff does is search for the word "tax."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in692765.shtml
Ten Tips From A Privacy Vigilante
May 3, 2005
(CBS) "Jeff from Sacramento" advises people follow these tips to better protect themselves from file-sharing fraud.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in692778.shtml
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Print out the tax document on paper and/or save a copy onto a CD or floppy disk, then delete it off your computer.
2. If you're going to leave the sharing program on your computer, be very sure of what it is sharing. Perhaps create a shared folder on your desktop and allow the sharing program only access to that. All downloaded files go into and out of that file only.
3. Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. Sign up for the fraud alert program. They will watch the Social Security numbers given to them for 90 days and alert the person if credit is applied for in the timeframe when a credit check is done.
4. Ask that a password be added to or in place of a Social Security number as an ID check when dealing with companies. Some companies will ask for the last four digits of a Social Security number as a form of ID checking to insure who they are talking to. Adding a password or using a password instead provides better security.
5. Watch the postal mail to make sure it isn't being stolen. People may try and steal mail for credit card offers and other information, especially now that they would have the name address and Social Security number from the tax form.
6. Watch what goes out in the trash - no names, addresses, phone numbers or other identifiable information. Anything with possible personal information on it needs to be shredded into tiny pieces.
7 People should get a regular credit report on themselves, just to make sure the information there is correct and to watch for signs of identity theft.
8. If you had your tax refund directly deposited to your checking or savings account, get that account changed as quickly as possible. Because it has the routing and account number on the tax form, money could be spent directly out of the account over the Internet 24 hours a day.
9. Go to Yahoo's or Google's Web sites and search for "identity theft." This will bring up sites that people can go to which will tell them more about identity theft, like what it is, how it occurs and more ways to protect their personal information. These sites will also offer information about where to go and how to report when something does happen.
10. If you keep the file-sharing program, use it to search for your tax file to see if anyone out there is sharing it after it is off your computer. In some cases, and with some sharing programs, it is possible to see who it is and to help law enforcement in tracking down the potential identity thief
Fleet Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 20,760
Likes: 219
From: Newton America :-P
Some very good advice... I also use 1 old junk computer for music/movie downloads ONLY. I do my banking and paypal stuff, and taxes on another computer - that is only connected to the net whe I need to get on for something. Keeping it seperate is a good why to keep information seperate.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,140
Likes: 4
From: Oak Harbor, OH
Okay.. Why on earth would you keep tax records, bank records, and other personal info on your computer? Print the stuff off and file it away then DELETE the files. Then noone can see it. It's too bad the people are too reliant on computers. What ever happened to the pen and paper?
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 10,728
Likes: 1
From: Damascus-Boring, Ore
Hmmm. A lot of file sharing software is set up to run on a boot-up- stop that. A firewall would do wonders- Zone-Alarm can be set up to "ask" when a chosen program attempts to run. There's a lot this guy could have done, short of deleting everything off of the computer. My own solution is to keep one machine dedicated to private stuff, and it's online rarely.
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 1
From: Bixby, OK
The main reason that this happens is people do an install of a sharing program and then they just say "yes" and "OK" to everything. One thing all the programs for sharing songs and other files asks is "Do you want to search your hard drive for songs and documents?" And it is always auto-selected as yes. People need to look at privacy statements and everything of the programs they're playing with.
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