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Online security is a priority for parents with children, businesses, and anyone who wants to be safe on the computer. This website will teach you the tricks of the trade to making sure you stay secure on the internet.


 * Determine if you are on a secured page or not.**

Some web sites use a secure connection between the web site and your browser. This may be important to you, for instance, if you want to pay online for a product or a service and have to enter credit card information or other personal information.

To know if your browser is viewing a secure web site, you can look in the lower right part of the window. There is a small box in the frame of the window to the left of the area that describes which zone you are in (usually the Internet zone, with a globe icon). If you see a yellow padlock icon, the web site you are viewing is a "secure web site." If the box is empty, the web site does not have a secure connection with your browser.

You can also have a look at the URL: if it starts with [https://], you are on a secured page; if the URL starts with **http://,** you're not.//

//It's now 2011 and many folks are brimming with resolve to quit some habit, go on a diet, or exercise more. Still others will look to the year ahead and try to predict what comes next for us. But resolutions are made to be broken and even the best intended predictions have a 50% or better chance of not coming true. There are, however, some absolutes. Here's a list of things you// can count on happening in 2011. This year, make a pact with yourself to not fall victim to yesteryear's social engineering scams. After all, you'll have plenty of other security mishaps to deal with in 2011 without adding getting scammed to the mix. For sure, you can also bet that in 2011: Fortunately, you don't need to reinvent the wheel to protect yourself. Following these [|2010 New Years Resolutions]will keep you safer in 2011, both online and off.
 * Antivirus Software**
 * 1) Some celebrity's Twitter account will be hacked and their tweets will point to malware-laden websites;
 * 2) Someone you don't even know will try to 'friend' you on Facebook so they can spam you with socially engineered malware;
 * 3) A malicious email will pretend to be a breaking news alert;
 * 4) You'll receive a greeting card from a stranger with a link that points to a malicious website;
 * 5) Someone from Nigeria or South Africa will claim a long lost relative or complete stranger has left you lots of money, then ask you to pay some fees in order to receive the (bogus) funds;
 * 6) You'll receive a bogus job offer that promises instant cash with no qualification requirements other than having a bank account and a pulse;
 * 7) You'll receive an email claiming you've won some non-existent Internet lottery - and once again ask you for fees for the (bogus) funds.
 * 1) Search engine trending topics will be repeatedly poisoned with links to malicious websites;
 * 2) Tens of thousands of legitimate websites will be repeatedly compromised;
 * 3) Malicious ads will be repeatedly distributed through bona fide and perfectly innocent websites;
 * 4) New security vulnerabilities will be repeatedly discovered, released, and quickly exploited - often by the same folks that discovered them.


 * SPYWARE**

**Spyware** is Internet jargon for **Advertising Supported software** (Adware). It is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. There are several large media companies that offer them to place banner ads in their products in exchange for a portion of the revenue from banner sales. This way, you don't have to pay for the software and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying, there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing fee.

**Why is it called "Spyware" ?** While this may be a great concept, the downside is that the advertising companies also install additional tracking software on your system, which is continuously "calling home", using your Internet connection and reports statistical data to the "mothership". While according to the privacy policies of the companies, there will be no sensitive or identifying data collected from your system and you shall remain anonymous, it still remains the fact, that you have a "live" server sitting on your PC that is sending information about you and your surfing habits to a remote location.....

**Real spyware...** There are also many PC surveillance tools that allow a user to monitor all kinds of activity on a computer, ranging from keystroke capture, snapshots, email logging, chat logging and just about everything else. These tools are often designed for parents, businesses and similar environments, but can be easily abused if they are installed on your computer without your knowledge.

If you're like most people, you've heard a lot about online banking but probably haven't tried it yourself. You still pay your bills by mail and deposit checks at your bank branch, much the way your parents did. You might shop online for a loan, life insurance or a home mortgage, but when it comes time to commit, you feel more comfortable working with your banker or an agent you know and trust. Online banking isn't out to change your money habits. Instead, it uses today's computer technology to give you the option of bypassing the time-consuming, paper-based aspects of traditional banking in order to manage your finances more quickly and efficiently. Origin of online banking The advent of the Internet and the popularity of personal computers presented both an opportunity and a challenge for the banking industry. For years, financial institutions have used powerful computer networks to automate millions of daily transactions; today, often the only paper record is the customer's receipt at the point of sale. Now that its customers are connected to the Internet via personal computers, banks envision similar economic advantages by adapting those same internal electronic processes to home use. Banks view online banking as a powerful "value added" tool to attract and retain new customers while helping to eliminate costly paper handling and teller interactions in an increasingly competitive banking environment.
 * What is online banking?**

Today, most large national banks, many regional banks and even smaller banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking, variously known as PC banking, home banking, electronic banking or Internet banking. Those that do are sometimes referred to as "brick-to-click" banks, both to distinguish them from brick-and-mortar banks that have yet to offer online banking, as well as from online or "virtual" banks that have no physical branches or tellers whatsoever. The challenge for the banking industry has been to design this new service channel in such a way that its customers will readily learn to use and trust it. After all, banks have spent generations earning our trust; they aren't about to risk that on a Web site that is frustrating, confusing or less than secure. Most of the large banks now offer fully secure, fully functional online banking for free or for a small fee. Some smaller banks offer limited access or functionality; for instance, you may be able to view your account balance and history but not initiate transactions online. As more banks succeed online and more customers use their sites, fully functional online banking likely will become as commonplace as automated teller machines.
 * Brick-to-click banks **