Safeguard, Smart and Secure (The 3"S")

To avoid financial loss when using the Internet for online transactions, we should pay attention to three good practices, or in short, the 3"S", as shown below :

• (S)afeguard Oneself
  
  
• (S)mart e-shopping
  
  
• (S)ecure Investment

(S)afeguard Oneself
To protect ourselves from cybercrime, Internet users should be aware of and prevent computer equipments from being infected by computer virus, Trojans and malicious codes, which are computer programs that may steal our personal identities without our notice. We should remember to implement necessary security measures, not only when setting up a new PC, but also during its daily use. Personal and sensitive information should always be handled and stored securely. Some good practices are :

• If a computer is shared by different persons, configure individual accounts for each individual.
  
  
• Use different passwords for different applications and Internet services, instead of using one single password for all.
  
  
• Use strong passwords and change them regularly.
  
  
• Apply software patches, both for the operating systems and the applications, regularly.
  
  
• Keep anti-virus software and signatures update, and perform full system scan regularly.
  
  
• Beware of suspicious emails, attachments and websites. Do not access them unless they are proved to be safe.
  
  
• Safeguard the wireless networks.

(S)mart Shopping
Smart shopping aims to provide good practices for on-line consumers to protect themselves and prevent criminals from conducting illegal or malicious activities during e-auction, e-shopping and mailing shopping. From time to time, users should be aware of the common traps and patterns that criminals will use. Some major considerations and preventive measures are :

• Beware of malicious codes in third-party plug-ins software.
  
  
• Beware of phishing websites.
  
  
• Examine the "Terms and Disclaimers" before participating any e-commerce activities.
  
  
• Choose well-known and trusted websites for e-shopping.
  
  
• Choose websites that use secure encryption methods for sensitive data transmission and/or third-party payment methods.
  
  
• Choose secure payment methods, such as "Verified by VISA" or "MasterCard SecureCode", if possible.
  
  
• Be alert on latest news and tricks in Internet fraud.

(S)ecure Investment
More and more financial losses are found in the e-banking and e-investment activities. Some common characteristics and traps including fraudulent websites and their preventive tips are listed.

• Do not follow URL links from un-trusted sources, emails or social networking.
  
  
• Do not disclose your personal credentials, such as e-banking username and password, to other people including any person claimed to be a bank staff.
  
  
• Never conduct online banking or online transactions from a public terminal or unsecured terminals.
  
  
• Keep track of transaction records and balances regularly.
  
  
• Select secure transactions options, such as "Two-factor Authentication", if available.
  
  
• Be alert on latest criminal cases in Internet fraud.

Apart from the above-mentioned 3"S" good practices, more relevant information can be found at the following theme pages:

Ways to protect yourself
http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/yourself/yourself.html

Ways to protect your computer
http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/computer/computer.html