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Holiday Safety 411

Posted on Dec 3, 2010 by The Woodlands of College Station

WEB:
1. Avoid “Click-Happy” Accidents: Don’t be the “click-happy” person – be cautious before clicking and following links
2. Evil Greeting Cards: Watch your incoming emails! Ask yourself… a) do you know this person? b) do they normally send messages like this? c) does the title seem too good to be true.
3. Phishing Tricks: Be aware of Phishers! Phishing email commonly targets PayPal, eBay and Amazon users although bank notification emails and credit card frauds are also on the top schemes of these financially motivated attackers.
4. Surfing Disaster: Surf the internet safely, make sure your online security protection is turned on(firewall, HIPS and anti-malware). Cyber threats uses blackhat search engine optimization to direct traffic to malicious websites.
5. Holiday Scammers – if it sounds too good to be true, then think again! Be cautious of job offerings, big discounts, and free winnings.
6. Charity Fraud: We hope you all are in the holiday spirit, but make sure you know who you are donating to and their cause. Avoid engaging into hasty decision by just following a good looking email or visiting unfamiliar website. Spend time to research and don’t hesitate to ask! It doesn’t make you cheap – just responsible.
7. Dangerous Downloads & Installs: Sure people are in the giving spirit, but do you know what that content contains? Spammed malware uses social engineering technique such as the “Delivery Problem.” This email message pretends to be coming from legitimate companies such as UPS, DHL and FedEx. The convincing looks and content often leads to manual download and installation of malicious program.
8. Identity Theft: Holiday hackers, password stealers, and banking trojans may take advantage of you this festive season. BE SMART!
9. Enable Security Protections: Prepare for the season – update your current software, enable your online protection, and monitor your activity.

TRAVEL & SAFETY
1. If no one will be in the home during the holidays, turn off and unplug all electrical items not in use.
2. Keep windows and doors locked at all time – especially beginning at dusk
3. Keep personal belongings out of site (ie: cars) This is the number one reason for vehicle break-ins.
4. Talking on your cell phone and/or listening to a music player are the kind of distractions that robbers look for when selecting targets. When exiting your vehicle or walking to your destination, it is so important to focus on getting where you must go (free of distractions that prevent you from noticing dangerous situations).

Tagged: college station apartments, apartments, off-campus, student housing, student travel, holiday safety