Avoid Browser Hijack: Protect Your System
It is unfortunate that Americans only think of identity theft protection when it has already occurred. We install firewalls and update or install our anti-virus software only after we have been infected by malwares and our browser hijack by these malwares. Or check on our credit transactions only after we lost a significant amount of cash thru identity theft and spent hundreds of dollars to correct our damaged credit reputation, do we finally recognize the necessity for identity protection.
If you're one of those that are alarmed by stories on the news or by the increasing amount of spam you receive in your e-mail daily then you should act now. Don't fall prey to these thieves, check out these tips to help you.
Offline, the best you can do is to ensure that all your personal data are secure and that it is not easily accessible by just anybody, this includes carrying only the ID you need, so in cases that your wallet or purse gets stolen you will not lose any vital ID and make sure that you store it in a secure area in your house.
Also remember to shred or throw out in separate bins any old bills, papers and envelopes or any other document that can contain personal information. Now that you have torn documents that contain your personal information, you should tear up your old and expired ID as well, tore them to pieces as well and throw them in separate trash cans
Online, there are a couple of ways commercial identity theft is kept. Update any antivirus and anti malware program you have, make sure that any firewall you have is turned on, this in turn allows your computer to be protected from harmful malwares like browser hijack, one that takes over your browser and makes it useless for you.
Identity protection can be kept in another way and that is to avoid becoming a victim of phishing scams, don't open emails that you cannot ensure who the sender is, or email attachments that you’re not anticipating, tell your friends to tell you before they send anything to your email, this will prevent you from downloading files that may contain malwares like browser hijack that takes over your browser and directs you to websites without your control. Same goes for instant messages that asks you to click a link, no matter how enticing the offer maybe, do not click the link, you may inadvertently download the browser hijack software
Lastly, exercise your right to privacy, in any transaction, you don’t have to provide your personal details unless absolutely necessary, you can also determine if a certain company sends out periodical promotional announcements and/or phone calls, if they do, you can tell them not to inform you, this helps minimize unwanted messages in your e-mail and helps you determine which ones will fool you into downloading malwares like commercial identity theft and you can learn to avoid these messages and send them directly to the trash.
