Reminder after Zappos hack: how to protect yourself online?
By Gina on January 18, 2012 | Security basics, Zappos hack, strong password, customers account compromised, Zappos server hacked
In Kentucky Sunday night Zappos server was hacked. Hackers were able to get a pass to personal records of 24 million Zappos customers which means if you used the site you can be a victim of this attack as well.
Here are few tips and advises of how you can protect yourself:
1. Use a strong password. The best advice is to rotate through a series of passwords by changing them on a regular basis. It is strongly recommended to create one tough password and use it just for only your e-mail account. An important thing to know is that almost every site checks password changes or sends account access confirmations to e-mail accounts. So, if a hacker has an access to your e-mail account, he'll basically get every private information of yours.
2. Get a credit report. You can get at least one free credit report a year that will give you information if someone has opened a bogus credit card or other thing related to your bank account. These reports are free, so be careful if some advertisements say you otherwise.
3. Have and up-to-date security software. It's not surprising that all malware and other infections come to users computer if security software is not installed or not updated. You need to make sure you have up-to-date computer protection tool on your PC because all these updates include various patches for known holes that hackers use to access systems. You have to remember to make sure that Java, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Flash and Microsoft's Internet Explorer are updated too because those are also attacked by cyber criminals a lot.
4. Avoid fake e-mails messages. Zappos is sending every one of its affected customers a warning e-mail. However, such "official" e-mails can come from hackers as well. So, you have to be vigilant what attachments you open and what kind of links you are clicking. Make sure it is safe to click on a link or open file that was send to you.
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