You are told that there is an internet cafe round the corner and you can check your emails there. You take your laptop and flip flop your way through basking and lazy tourists. In the cafe you are told the wireless internet does not work for some reason so you will have to use one of the cafe’s own networked computers. You hesitate momentarily but then you pay caution to the wind and sit behind an archaic drone of a buzzing and humming PC and you type away your usernames and passwords at the various sites you login to.
As you leave, you are bid farewell with smiles, pleasant people you think to yourself and you go back to your tourist routine – basking by the pool. Content with the fact that the damage to your bank account from the holiday expenses wasn’t as bad as you first thought and the private emails from your colleagues at work filled with envy makes you grin... time for a Martini!
Lo and behold and unknown to you, the clever chap in the internet cafe behind the thick nerdy glasses had earlier installed a key logger on all the computers in the shop. The object of the key logger is to simply log every key press that takes place on the computer that it is installed on. In short, they now have a log of everything your typed and I mean EVERYTHING, including your username and passwords.
As you lounge about at the pool and later take a dip into the sea, the unscrupulous has already started emailing his various contacts and ‘friends’ your details and may be even helping himself to bank to bank transfer from your online bank. Online banks usually use drop down security implementations to avoid this very situation but this hacker knows that he can use the forgot password feature and in most instances get access with a new password etc.
They will stop at nothing and will continue to dissect your emails to find anything personal that that they can forge or steal. If you own domains online, you may find them transferred or pushed to another account. If you own stock, shares or do any type of online dealing they will liquidate your assets and request a check be mailed to one of their bed ridden or senile aunts...
They will claw at everything and they will indeed have a field day if your password is uniform to other sites. I am sorry I am dramatic but the situation warrants it and clearly you should be aware and concerned.
The moral of the story is use internet cafes for simple browsing and never for any type of surfing that may lead to your personal details being compromised. Your online security is your responsibility, you have no choice but to act vigilant at all times. Professional hackers and thieves don’t have a neon sign over their heads advertising what they do. They lay low and observe those who are complacent and then pounce at the first opportunity. Always opt for a wireless connection using your own laptop and if either are unavailable then enjoy casual surfing at an internet cafe and remember never to input any of your own usernames or passwords. You are there for the sun and a holiday so enjoy your time away while it lasts...
Author Resource:
Security PC http://SecurityPC.com is a free online security resource to benefit the general public and bring awareness about internet security. Visitors to http://SecurityPC.com will find many helpful guides and resources to help protect them and their computers from online crime.
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