Internet Tips
How To Be Safe On the Internet


Every day we open our computers and check email and our favorite websites. We may even do our banking online. But how do we know the websites we are viewing are the official websites of our banking institutions?

It’s a serious problem. Every day, people are defrauded out of their money and savings accounts, even their identities, because of something called “Phishing,” In computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging, and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures.

The first recorded mention of the term phishing was on AOL-online Usenet newsgroup on January 2, 1996, although the term may have appeared earlier in the print edition of the hacker magazine 2600. A phishing technique was described in detail as early as 1987, in a paper and presentation delivered to the International HP Users Group, Interex. The term phishing is a variant of fishing, probably influenced by phreaking, and alludes to the use of increasingly sophisticated baits used in the hope of a "catch" of financial information and passwords.

What can you do? You can take steps to avoid phishing attempts by slightly modifying your computer browsing habits. When contacted about an account needing to be "verified" (or any other topic used by phishers), it is a sensible precaution to contact the company from which the email apparently originates to check that the email is legitimate. Also, rather than trusting any hyperlinks in the suspected phishing message, type the company’s genuine website name into the address bar of your browser. That way, you’ll know you’ve reached the official site.For more information and tips to avoid being “phished,” go to www.nophishing.org.

Computer Classes

There will be computer classes held at Town Hall in Council Chamber A at 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.  on Tuesday mornings.  The next class will be Tuesday, July 29.  For more information or to sign up, call Terri at Community Services at 730-4153.  Phil Maynard will be teaching the classes.