Check for the padlock!
It’s important when shopping online to make sure the site you’re on uses an SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate encryption.

Find the padlock in one of two places:

• In the status bar
• or the bottom of your web browser.

This encryption ensures your credit card information, email or other personal information is protected from hackers.

Periodically, you may receive fraudulent email messages appearing to come from a valid source. These emails are generally referred to as SPAM or ‘Phishing’ messages.

To protect yourself and your family from phishing  scams:

• Be suspicious of any unsolicited emails asking for personal information.
• You should always be very suspicious when asked for personal information, especially when asked by companies or organizations that should already have such information.
• You can report any suspicious emails like these via the Spam button within webmail. Simply use the Spam button within webmail, mark the item as spam, and delete the email.

For more information about Internet fraud and SPAM visit http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams.

To minimize the risk of your personal information getting into the wrong hands, it’s best to share sparingly on social media and create unique and hard to decipher passwords.

• A completely filled out profile could actually supply the answers to security questions that are used to retrieve your passwords.
• Even if you privatize your profile, it takes just one security oversight to open access to identity thieves.

The key here is to be selective about the amount of information you choose to provide in your profile.

It’s important to not only use a unique password but also differentiate your passwords across all of your accounts.

Here are a few quick tips to build a strong password:

• Substitute some of the letters for numbers
• Try spelling a word backwards
• Use special characters

Or use credible online password generators

Removing Malware

• The first step to removing malware is simply recognizing the signs that something is wrong with your PC.
• Signs include unusually slow performance, warnings from security programs you didn’t install, browser pop-ups when no browser is actually open, and much more.
• If you recognize any of these warning signs follow one or all of these options to remove malware.
• Good free malware tool is Malwarebytes

Update Anti-virus software

• New viruses are created daily. Your antivirus software is aware of this and updates frequently to accommodate these viruses.
• Simply check to see if you are using the most up-to-date version of your software to combat the latest malware.

Good software for anti-virus is McAfee