'Tis the Season for Cyber Threats

As I was reading a newsletter recently that I had received from my virus and spyware protection vendor about online safety during the holiday shopping season, it occurred to me that their advice and warnings applied just as well to those using the Internet in job search as to Christmas shoppers.

Malicious URLs increase greatly in quantity during the holiday season, created by criminals who trick shoppers into supplying credit or debit card numbers, or downloading malware into their systems. A particular ploy that can trap unwitting job seekers is perpetrated by cybercriminals who create bogus links that capitalize on popular search phrases and manipulate search results so that they appear close to the top of the results page.

Type in "executive jobs" or "job board" or "job training" and there's a good chance some of these links will come up, inviting you to click through. That's when any one of a number of things could happen: A pop-up alert tricks you into buying fake antivirus software. A back-door Trojan infects your PC, allowing a hacker to intercept your credit card info as you shop on other sites. A "robot" installs itself on your system and uses it to conduct malicious activity in the background, while you remain blissfully unaware (unless it takes up so much of your processor that your system slows to a crawl).

So what can you do to maximize your use of the Web in your job search without endangering your financial information or personal identity? We are many of us (myself included) guilty at least occasionally of clicking through without a lot of thought to sites that look like they may have the answer to our question or carry the product we are looking for. The best advice from the experts is to make sure you have solid security software on your PC including anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection. Be sure to keep the software updated and run sweeps and checks regularly. Always take a moment to "think before you click"--if your "gut" tells you it doesn't look legitimate, move on to the next listing. Never, ever, EVER enter personal information and in particular credit card or bank account data on a page unless the URL begins with "https" instead of "http." (The "https" indicates a secure site in which your data will be encrypted.)

The last thing a job seeker needs, especially if unemployed, is to suffer personal identity theft, unauthorized charges to credit cards, bank account funds theft, data loss, or crippled PC performance! As malicious search engine results become more prevalent every day, it pays to take prudent steps to protect yourself.

Posted by Laurie Smith

Comments

[Jean Cummings]

Excellent advice, Laurie! I think something of the kind happened to my old PC that "slowed to a crawl." I moved on over to a MacBook Pro and can't believe how fast it is. But the warnings you give help us move from blithe consumers to buyer beware. Thanks! Jean

[bashar]

one word! GET A MAC