Identity Theft, What You Need To Know About I.D. Theft

Today people use the Internet to see what movie is playing, shop, do homework, pay bills and for banking and financial transactions. For many of us, email has not only taken the place of postal mail, but also replaces many telephone calls. There is an increasing group of Internet users who have direct connections to the Web through cable modem, T-1, or DSL, which means they are connected 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In most ways this type of connection is wonderful, as it is always "on," very convenient, and offers very high speed connections.

However, there is one major drawback to being continuously hooked up to the Internet that many of us have overlooked, or are not aware of. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are neglecting to tell you just how vulnerable you might be to being hacked or otherwise attacked while connected to the Internet.

The Internet is just like the rest of the world. It is populated with the same kind of people society deals with on a daily basis, including criminals and those who simply wish to create havoc and chaos. In the past, these people might have gotten a kick out of hacking a company's homepage or Website in order to change some graphics, or leave a personalized "tag" on the site. The object was simply to prove you had the skill to "break into" another computer. Today, however, computer and database breaches have become more criminally focused.

Leaving your computer hooked up to a direct connection without firewall protection, either by software or hardware, is like leaving your house unlocked all the time. Worse yet, you have a sign hanging out front saying "Come on in!" When you are connected to the Internet, you literally have access to the world. What some people forget is that this is not a one-way mirror. If you can see out, that means anyone on the Internet, with the right program, can see into your computer as well. Not only that, but they can plant a program into your computer (a Trojan, or virus) so that they can access it not only at that very moment, but in the future as well.

Once a thief gains access to your computer, they could gather all the personal or sensitive information you have stored on the hard drive unless your information is securely encrypted. Social Security Numbers, credit card numbers, bank account information, your budget, and your electronic tax returns - any and all might be up for grabs. Above article is a brief from the ITRC web site.