Robert Siciliano explains how to stay safe while shopping online. Use HTTPS on checkout pages, run antivirus software, and clear your browser cache regularly. Watch out for gift-card skimming scams and keyloggers that steal passwords.
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—so it doesn't take a hacker to hit online shoppers, and cyber thieves expected to be out in force, especially today. Robert Siciliano knows what to look out for. Robert, thanks for joining us this afternoon. So we've become a nation of online shoppers. How serious is this problem, and what should— what more do we need to do here to protect ourselves?
Well, identity theft itself is a $50 billion issue affecting about 10 million people a year, and the moment that your PC is affected when you're shopping online It can certainly affect your financial posture.
All right, so what are the big scams these days? I mean, we just heard the report they're taking our credit card details, but what are they using that information for? Again, what are the big plans and scams? Well, first and foremost, they infect your browser.
If you don't have an updated browser, then that browser ends up with malware on it. That malicious software allows keyloggers to log your keystrokes. Bad guys get your usernames, passwords, and credit card information. So then, how is the investigation—
how good are the police and the investigators at nailing these hackers down? And what are the penalties also?
Well, they're certainly getting better at it. You know, both state, local, federal governments, and international governments are getting together today more than ever, and they're busting these guys more so than ever. However, there are so many more hackers to take their place, bad guy hackers. And the penalties, while they are stiff— some of them are receiving, you know, 10, 20, 30 years— you know, If one or two hackers are put away, there's still, you know, 200, 300 to replace them instantly.
One of your suggestions, one of your tips, number 2, is to look for secure pages. What do you mean by that?
HTTPS in the browser. That means that when you're shopping online and you go to a website and you punch in your credit card information, make sure on that page it's a secure one, and that means HTTPS in the browser.
You know, another question I have for you, similar to the theme we're talking about here, but you know, there are so many companies now that are building these portfolios, and it's legal, of what my online habits are, what sites I'm navigating to, and where I'm doing my online shopping, and they're taking that information, aggregating it, right, and then selling it to others, specifically advertisers. That makes me a little bit uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do to protect myself from those monitoring services, those monitoring companies?
Well, there's certainly some privacy issues there that some are concerned about more than others, and the best thing to do if you are concerned in that regard is to clear out your cookies, to go through your browser settings and clear out your cache. There are many different programs out there, free and paid that will clear out everything in your browser. Get an all-access or total protection antivirus that also has anti-spyware, anti-phishing, that removes and clears your cache and all unwanted information.
Does that stuff come when I buy the computer or buy the iPad, or do I have to really go out and shop for it and do my homework?
Well, certainly when you buy a PC, generally they are packaged with, you know, say a McAfee antivirus, something that is there for 6 months to a year, and then you renew the license. If it's an iPad or a Mac, they are also vulnerable to viruses. So you definitely want to do your research and make sure that you have some type of an antivirus, especially on a Mac today. Again, McAfee did a study not too long ago and there's at least 5,000 viruses to date on Macs themselves.
One other quick thing, especially with the holiday shopping and the online stuff with these gift card scams that are going on, can you tell me about that?
Yeah, great question. The bad guys today know that gift cards themselves are just, you know, built with a magnetic stripe in the back and in the store the bad guy can just take one off off the shelf, skim that actual magnetic stripe into a small device and skim the information off of it. And then from there, they go online or on the phone and they find out what the balance on that card is. So you, the unsuspecting shopper, then take that card, you buy it, you fill it up with cash, and then you give it as a gift, and then while that process is taking place, they're looking to see what the balance is. The bad guy sees the balance and they go ahead and they use that card. They clone that card and they empty it before you have a chance to use it. So the best thing to do really is to use those gift cards as quickly as possible.
Yeah, you said it. Thank you so much, Robert Siciliano. Good info today. Thank you. Okay, between Iraq and the Granite State— forget Iowa— is Ron Paul about to make double trouble for Mitt Romney?
