Using a Public Computer-Security Considerations
Many people use computers in internet cafes, airports and libraries to
access the Internet while away on business or holiday. But are they
safe? To cut to the chase... No.Public computers are ideal for web
browsing, reading news checking the weather and accessing your favourite
websites and that is about it.
They are not meant for anything that is
private! So you shouldn't be using a public Internet computer for:
- Checking your email
- Accessing you bank account
- Accessing membership sites
- Buying
- Transferring money via Paypal
In short if you are required to enter a user name/ password or credit
card then it is not to be done on a public computer. Many will be
surprised
at the first on the list.. checking email, as it is probably the number
one use of public computers.
Logging on to your private email account from a public computer means
that you have to enter a username/password combination. This information
can easily be obtained using free/inexpensive software or keyloggers on
the computer.
If you are going to access email then access a non sensitive account
like Yahoo or MSN and treat the information that you send/receive as if
it was being sent on a postcard.
Microsoft offer
safety tips on using a public computer. In my opinion they are next
to worthless as you probably won't be able to change the settings anyway
and if you can, you may forget, and even if you do it is still not safe.
So don't be fooled.. public computers aren't safe, and you can't make
them safe so treat them as such.
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