Safe Transactions over the Internet

In this blog, we will focus on how to keep your data safe while it is traversing back and forth on the Internet. In today's world, your information is what defines your identity. Every company and public agency you deal with, knows you only because you have some kind of information on their records. On the Internet, stealing someone's information with the intent of impersonating that someone is akin to stealing his/her identity.

In the previous blog we talked about protecting data that's on your machine. This blog will cover how to protect data that's in transit on the Internet or stored remotely on another machine not belonging to you.

• When shopping on the Internet, deal with vendors that do not store your credit card information. This means that you'll have to enter your credit card number each time you purchase - it's a small hassle to keep your data safe.
• When making any kind of a transaction that pertains to private data (i.e. passwords, banking info, SIN, birthdates, phone numbers), make sure that the site address is using HTTPS (https://...) instead of just http. HTTPS means that the data in transit will be encrypted.
• Never login to any application through a login form in an e-mail. This is a common strategy to steal your passwords.
• If you store private information on your PC (photos of your credit cards, SIN card, or a password file), keep it in a password protected file (e.g. password protected ZIP file).
• If you are using a wireless internet connection (WiFi), turn on data encryption so your data cannot be sniffed over the air. Consult your WiFi router/access point manual for how to turn this on.
• Also use a MAC address filter. Consult your WiFi router/access point manual for how to use this.

If your data has already been compromised and your identity has been stolen:

• Reimage your PC
• Change all your passwords
• Notify your creditors and suspend all your credit/debit cards
• Notify Service Canada if your SIN has been stolen