Frequently Asked Questions about Security

By Joshua Erdman
Digital Foundation, inc.

What is a secure connection?
A secure connection is established when the letters HTTPS appear in the address bar or a little golden lock or key is displayed in your web browser. What this means is that information sent between your machine and the website you are connecting to is encrypted (encoded, protected, scrambled) in such a way that anyone listening to the electrical conversation between these machines will not be able to decipher it. If it was not secure, this snooper would know everything he needed to make purchases with your credit card.

How can people find out my Credit Card number or other personal information?
By listening to your non-secure online orders (Packet sniffing), digging through your trash in the office, by you placing an order to a non-legit website who is only out to get your credit card number, etc. Once they have information about you, it can make guessing your passwords, or accessing your other important information even easier.

Why is my personal information so important?
There is a market out there for information. Businesses are gathering info everywhere you go. Grocery stores know what you buy (How? Through CLUB cards! Just look at the coupons they send you, don’t they usually match your purchasing habits?) online stores can log the type of stuff you look at on their websites, your state government knows what you drive and how much you make. All this info put together makes you the ultimate target for marketing. Advertisers know exactly what to advertise, to what people, at what time, and in what way based on this information.

What are considered Best Practices for Business Security?
Every business that uses a broadband Internet connection should implement a firewall to protect their network from intrusion by viruses and people with malicious intent. Anti-Virus should be installed throughout the company on every computer. Minimum password requirements on the network should be set to at least 6 characters and users should be required to change their password regularly (at least every 6 months).

Do I need to worry about Viruses to stay secure?
Absolutely! There are computer viruses out there that can watch what you type and send your passwords to others. The only things that do not need Anti-Virus is my calculator and my TiVo. Click here for a tutorial on Computer Virus Software.

What else can I do to keep my computer and my identity secure?
Choose a good password and change it often, and do not use the same password for all your different accounts and member ships. Digital Foundation also provides free network security scans for Businesses.

Digital Foundation

If you would like more information about these questions and others, contact Digital Foundation for more information.

References:
Choosing a Good Password

Article last reviewed: 12/30/2005

Created by: Digital Foundation, inc.

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