The Rural Voice, 2002-11, Page 42AgriTech
Take steps to be secure while shopping on the Internet
Janice
Becker is a
computer
enthusiast
and
journalist
living near
Walton, ON.
The Christmas shopping season is
upon us and as recent surveys
indicate. more and more Canadians
are choosing to make those purchases
from the comfort of their home. using
online shopping sites rather than
venturing into packed malls and big
box stores.
However, before freely offering up
your personal information such as
addresses and credit card numbers. it
is vital that the security and privacy
policies of the retailer are understood.
There are a few very obvious
indicators that the store has taken
precautions to prevent the theft of
your info. When entering a secure
site. a window may pop up demon-
strating security procedures are in
place. Other visual evidence is the
closed padlock or unbroken key that
may appear in the lower corner of
your screen. Both of these note
encrypted communication.
The address for the site may also
change from http to an https prefix.
Beyond these noticeable signals,
users should read each merchant's
security and privacy policy before
using the site. Not only are some sites
Tess protected than others. but some
may be more likely to pass your
information on to other institutions.
Shopping through reputable, well-
known companies may be the best
protection against this activity.
Your Guide to Shopping on Canadian
Web Sites. through the Shopwiser
page. www.shopwiser.
com/References/Security_Issues/html
outlines issues of which shoppers
should be aware. Connections can be
made to more than 1,100 online
Canadian retailers. covering 26
categories. Links to agencies that
provide security for merchants are
also included.
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38 THE RURAL VOICE
One such company, Verisign.
www.verisign.com/products/site/,
offers a free guide about its various
security packages.
As a business owner, protecting
the confidentiality of your clients'
records is important in ensuring their
continued trust. Companies such as
Internet Secure.
www.internetsecure.com and Bill
Point, www.billpoint.com, serve as
third party credit card processors so
there is an extra layer of protection.
For the benefit of the retailer, fraud
protection is also inherent.
While these are all mechanisms to
protect you when you send your
personal data into cyberspace. there
are ways to prevent hackers from
getting into your PC while connected.
All internet servers should be able to
provide you with information on how
they protect the system. but care
taken on your own machine can add
to security.
Norton. www.Symantec.com/
region/can/eng/product/nis/npf/, and
Zero -Knowledge Systems, www.free-
dom.net, offer a large selection of
firewall, anti-virus, parental control
and security packages for use both at
home or in the office.
A firewall monitors incoming and
outgoing internet traffic, helping to
block unauthorized connection
attempts while an anti-virus program
scans computer files and e-mail for
damaging infections.
The way you use your computer
and maintain files can also improve
security. It is also recommended that
passwords not be saved as these can
be read off the hard drive. It is better
to use letters unidentifiable as words
or a combination of letters and
numbers. These should not be
associated with your family.
A final measure would be to disable
the "cookie" collector on your web
browser or delete the files regularly.
Cookies are small files left on your
hard drive by a'web site, in order to
track your visits. The clean up can be
done off-line through your browser at
tools - internet options.
Contact me at
jlbecker@wightman.ca or through
The Rural Voice office, with topic
suggestions or feedback.0