Internet Privacy and Identity Theft Concerns

A decade ago, I learned that my husband was cheating on me. I found out just before midnight a few days before Christmas. Within ten minutes, I had the paramour's (That's PI lingo.) full name, address, names of her relatives, ages of some of the relatives, property value of the home in which she lived, and the names of her neighbors, along with the value of their homes.

I have mad Internet research skills. I'm a career journalist with a law enforcement background. I also have a PI and bounty hunter in the family, as well as people who can build a computer with a blindfold on. I can find out anything about anyone anytime. So can you.

I don't think I should be able to do that. Ironically, I'm a privacy nut. What works in your favor for finding out information, will work against you at some point in the future. Count on it.

When I tracked my husband's nefarious behavior that day, I was using ONLY what was available free to anyone a decade ago. Scary, huh?

There are many threats in terms of Internet security, but I'm going to focus in on the money threat for this article.

Your Credit information and/or Identity Theft. If you type any information into your computer, not online, mind you, just in a word processing document or Excel spreadsheet, that information can end up on the Internet.

We're in a new age, baby. Given that, you better be packing protection. If you do your banking, credit reports, medical reports, family history or the like, you have to be prepared. I live in a nice neighborhood, but I still have deadbolts on my doors.

When you visit a page on the Internet, or click on something in an email, you may be opening up a very well-planned, computer strike aimed at taking your financial information from your computer.

You don't even have to be online at the time. If you have high speed Internet through a cable company, for example, and your computer is plugged into the system, you can be hit at home while you are at work. A computer guru friend has reverted to using dial up specifically because he has more control over being connected to the Internet.

Just as a direct lightning hit will fry your computer regardless of whether you are using a surge protector, a direct hit by a tenacious hacker will make its mark as long as that direct access into your computer exists. No amount of virus protection or the like can help you.

Here are some ways to mitigate your vulnerability:

• Information. Monitor your credit information regularly. If you spot any irregularities, take action, contacting the bank, creditors, etc. Contact the credit bureaus and tell them to put a hold on credit inquiries. That basically means no one, legitimate or phony, can get your credit information from the bureaus.

• Shopping online. Set up a separate email account, a throw away account, so if your email address is passed along (and it will be) your regular email account won't get bombarded by spammers and worse, scammers. Shop only at sites you know have been protected. Check for an icon of a lock on the site.

• Emails. Delete emails from sources you don't recognize. This applies to more than just your typical email account (i.e. Myspace). Even if you know the source, be wary of opening attachments unless you are sure what it is. Most of us have gotten emails from friends only to find out later that your friend didn't send the email. A spammer took his account, and found you in your friend's address book.

• Follow up. Set up regular scans and checks of your system. Run it through the virus/tracking scans. How often depends on how often you use your computer. Most people advocate monthly, but if you run a business, it should be checked daily.

You may not be able to definitely stop someone from getting your credit and personal information, but you can stay ahead of the thief by cutting him off at the knees at each action he takes. It's time consuming, but it's necessary. It's just another price we must pay for convenience.