I get emails from readers occasionally that cause chills to run up and down my spine. Well not really but they do ask about doing very dangerous things online. So this week we are going to take a look at the Double Click "Do Not" list from questions I have answered.
Do not purchase items online from an unknown source. Stick with the big names whenever you can for obvious reasons. I have even fallen prey to this in the past. I once purchased several styluses at an incredibly cheap price. I received them and they didn’t work. The shipper said they were sorry and would send out functioning items immediately. That was about six months ago and I still do not have them. Thanks to a now vanished company overseas. Amazon and eBay are fine since you have some protection there.
Do not make stupid "cross-platform" posting statements. For instance, you post on one site you know your girlfriend reads that you are really sick, contagious and won’t be out of bed all weekend. Then you post on another social network about how you found the new love of your life Saturday afternoon. This goes for work related things, too. Or you could just not lie.
Do not perform your financial business on a public computer or even on your personal device while using a public Wi-Fi network. There are ways to protect yourself in these situations but you need to know what you are doing. Remember, in public you are only as safe as the most disreputable person at that location.
Do not be silly or naïve by posting really stupid, drunken and/or other compromising comments or photos on social networks. Those items belong to the company whose site you are putting them on (yeah, read the fine print). They could post them years later when you are applying for that elementary teaching position. Many companies, right or wrong, do check you out on social sites when hiring.
Do not download software from unknown sites. The application could be full of trojans, viruses, keyloggers, etc. After it is installed on your computer you could have given some nefarious person full access to everything on your computer including usernames, passwords and SSNs if you have them on your computer.
Do not open any email attachments unless you are specifically waiting for them. This includes those from people you know. Your friend’s email account could have been taken over and could be sending everyone in their address book a virus. If you get an attachment from a friend I always suggest you email them back, before opening the attached file, and ask if they sent it to you on purpose. A phone call can work too and it usually more fun.
More to come next week.
