The Internet is a wonderful place. It gives millions of people access to information that they would never have been able to obtain through traditional means. However, as many people have learned the hard way, there is also a darker side of the Internet where crimes are committed and criminals hide behind a wall of anonymity.
Things get hacked, people post embarrassing photos, and kids and adults are lured into sleazy stuff with just a few keyboard clicks. Last year saw two major hacking scandals. One was perpetrated by a legitimate British media agency (which has now closed) and the other happened by someone with impure motives.
Both incidents highlighted the ease of Internet access and that even the best-protected websites are vulnerable to attack. However, one of the biggest threats to your online security is the person who owns the web accounts. Many cyber attackers use phishing to obtain information from unwitting suspects.
Phishing is simple. It asks the intended victim to provide sensitive information so that the attacker can gain access to their accounts. However, if you think that phishers can’t fool you, you should understand that many of them use complex methods to retrieve your information.
Phishers make near-exact replicas of emails from legitimate companies that the victim seeks to do business with. It then asks the target to reveal their login and password information or else their accounts will be terminated. This is a farce and is intended to confuse the target.
The simplest remedy is for the target to call the actual company’s hotline directly and ask them to confirm the situation. Many times they will tell the target that the email is a scam and to ignore it.
The anonymity of the Internet makes it easy for people to send fake emails and create fake profiles. Many fake profiles have taken a person by surprise and it was only after they lost their money, their love, or sadly, their life.
Many people know about scams that originate primarily from West Africa and target people in the West. However, there are also scams where these same people hide in online dating profiles and pose as handsome military and medical officers in hopes of finding the love of their lives.
Although the Internet has helped many people find the love of their life, they should question anyone who asks them for money for medical bills, home repairs, or anything else. is a scam. However, most of these problems can be prevented with a simple Skype chat.
The scariest method that many people use is to attack children. Chat rooms are a notoriously dangerous place for a child to reside. Many men attract minors through age-appropriate chat rooms. They pose as a person (usually a boy) and gain the trust of a girl.
Then they usually ask them to send lewd photos, meet them somewhere, or sneak out of the house to be with them. This is a very dangerous thing to do and parents should monitor their children’s interactions within chat rooms (including Facebook) or block them altogether.
Another major security issue is malware. Malware infects a computer and sends information back to the source. There are very good malware blockers on the market. However, the computer owner should continue to update all antivirus programs and use only one antivirus program to prevent multiple blockers from canceling each other.
While the Internet has succeeded in transforming the world as we know it, it has also provided criminals with an endless source of potential targets. However, people should be aware of the pitfalls of the darkest reaches of the Internet to protect themselves and their families from any unfortunate incidents.