Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Are We Safe?


Have you ever been skeptical to let someone use what is yours because you’re not sure whether or not your privacy will remain protected?

The main thing that concerns those who use digital payments is the possibility of identity theft. No one wants their information to fall into wrong hands; therefore, as you may know installing virus protection software and fire walls is very important.  Firewall, like a barrier, can protect your home network and your family from offensive and likely hackers.


Almost all of us have smartphones, iPad, or some kind of tablet. We all use Wi-Fi at some point. Have you ever considered whether or not the server you’re using is secure or not? A lock or a key icon in your browser shows if you are using a secure server.



I wonder if it will make you feel safer if you knew that retailers use a data encryption that encodes your information in a way that only the key holder has the ability to encode. We all in some way have personal information like credit card numbers, financial records, social security numbers and other personal details that can be accessed by others. Saving your information on a removable or external hard drive or USB can be one way to secure our data. The more complicated your password on your computer, the harder it is for others to steal your records.
How about you? Do you feel safe using your phone or tablets anywhere? How would you feel safe?

Citation
 Hord, Jennifer.  "How Electronic Payment Works"  19 October 2005.  HowStuffWorks.com.
<http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/online-banking/electronic-payment.htm>  13 October 2013.

8 comments:

  1. What an interesting blog. It is said not to assume; but sometimes one can't help but to assume.Who will think that a company will put up an application or a device for the public to use and not have the apps or device secured. One would think that they go hands in hands these days. I will make sure to double check my devices and the apps I used to make sure they protect me from viruses.
    Thank you for the blog.

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    1. That is definitely the start. No one can be more responsible for the safety of our privacy other than us. It is nice to know companies will go to certain lengths to protect us but we should insure our protection first.

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  2. My sister attended UNCC last year and graduated this past spring. There was one point during the spring semester where her email and social networks were hacked 3 times in one month. She finally made the conclusion that all 3 days she had been hacked were days she had connected to the university's network. Thankfully, it was just social media and email rather than a payment. Every since then I have been very cautious on using any of my mobile devices on large networks, including UNCCs.

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    1. Unfortunate but true that such things happen on campuses. Being cautious is very wise. It is a good idea to stop and think again if we need to use large networks to access financial records.

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  3. INTERESTING!! I ACTUALLY DO NOT LIKE TO USE MY phone or my tablet for online banking or purchasing stuff. I just feel like it's not safe (rather it is true or NOT I have no idea.) I had email problems ...and I had to change my password.... something about someone tried to log in on my account. But I only have that problem when I log on my phone and have certain apps downloaded (But it might be a coincidence).

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  4. Although I do use my phone and iPad to make some purchases or banking transactions, I never use the remember my username option. It is very convenient to just take my phone out and check my balance or transfer some money over, but I cringe when I think that my phone could be stolen and with that access to my personal accounts. I also try not to use any kind of internet that is not protected or that I do not know who the owner is. I guess you can say I have trust issues with random wifi networks, but I have heard to many stories not to be a little weary.

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    1. That is the smart way. Unfortunately there are many who save their personal info on their tablets or phones because of easy access it provides. The consequences that follow if these items end up in position of wrong individuals cannot be pleasant. You are absolutely right to not trust random Wi-Fi networks; I wouldn't either.

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  5. Great blog! I have heard that some public wifi can actually collect your credit card information when you make the payments. I'm not sure it is real or not but it does sounds crazy and scary! So I never let any of my electrical devices to remember any of my usernames or passwords, just in case. Honestly, digital payments never make me feel safe, but sometimes we have no choice.

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