Tips for protecting personal information online

Cyber criminals are getting smarter about stealing your information online. No longer can the information security industry say that users should stick to “trusted” websites only. Cyber criminals are finding ingenious ways to compromise even those websites that you are familiar with and trust. Below are some tips that will help you securely navigate the Web and safely continue using it for your personal business.

•  Ensure that you have antivirus software installed on your computer. Georgetown employees and students can download Symantec for free from the UIS website. This software should be kept up-to-date and you should conduct a full virus scan at least one per week.

• If you receive a link in an e-mail from a trusted source, ensure that the link is legitimate by hovering your mouse over the link. View the bottom bar of your Web page to see the link’s true url. This will ensure that you know where you are going on the Web, and whether or not you want to go there.

• Keep your computer current with the most up-to-date security patches. Visit the websites of software developers directly (i.e., Microsoft, Adobe) to find out about current security patches for their products.

• Apply Web browser security controls for added security.      

Firefox: The Firefox noscript addon disables active scripts that may harbor viruses by default, and provides an option button in the lower right corner of the browser screen to change the viewing preference on a per site or per visit basis. It is recommended that you not select “Temporarily allow all this page” as this command will open up the entire Web page and subsequently, any possible viruses embedded in it.

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Internet Explorer: Internet Explorer has four configurable security zones (Internet, Local Intranet, Trusted Sites, Restricted Sites). You will need to disable iframes for each security zone and set active scripting to either disable or prompt. Those sites that you trust that require these features will need to be added to the Trusted Sites zone, which will need to be configured to be more permissive. However, know that if that “trusted” site becomes compromised, you could become a victim.

Instructions:
• Open Internet Explorer.
• From the Tools menu, select Internet Options.
• Click on the Security tab.
• For each zone, select the Default tab.
• For Internet, Local Intranet and Trusted Sites zones, using the Medium-high security level is appropriate.
• In the Trusted Sites zone, click on the Sites tab and add the urls for those sites that you trust.
• For the Restricted Sites zone, use the High security level. Click on the Sites tab to add urls for this zone. Putting sites in this zone will limit pop-up advertising, minimize cookies and reduce actions allowed by the sites.

For additional help with securing your information, review “Protecting your Georgetown computer.” You can also contact the UIS Help Desk at help@georgetown.edu or 202-687-4949.