Is It Safe? Protecting Your Computer, Your Business, and Yourself Online

by Michael Miller

Is It Safe? PROTECTING YOUR COMPUTER, YOUR BUSINESS, AND YOURSELF ONLINE   IDENTITY THEFT. DATA THEFT. INTERNET FRAUD. ONLINE SURVEILLANCE. EMAIL SCAMS. Hacks, attacks, and viruses. The Internet is a dangerous place. In years past, you could protect your computer from malicious activity by installing an antivirus program and activating a firewall utility. Unfortunately, that&;s no longer good enough; the Internet has become a much darker place, plagued not only by rogue software but also by dangerous criminals and shadowy government agencies. Is It Safe? addresses the new generation of security threat. It presents information about each type of threat and then discusses ways to minimize and recover from those threats. Is It Safe? differs from other security books by focusing more on the social aspects of online security than purely the technical aspects. Yes, this book still covers topics such as antivirus programs and spam blockers, but it recognizes that today&;s online security issues are more behavioral in nature&;phishing schemes, email scams, and the like.   Are you being scammed? Learn how to spot the newest and most insidious computer security threats&;fraudulent retailers, eBay scammers, online con artists, and the like.   Is your identity safe? Avoid being one of the nine million Americans each year who have their identities stolen. Today&;s real Internet threats aren&;t viruses and spam. Today&;s real threat are thieves who steal your identity, rack up thousands on your credit card, open businesses under your name, commit crimes, and forever damage your reputation!    Is Big Brother watching? Get the scoop on online tracking and surveillance. We examine just who might be tracking your online activities and why.    Is your employer watching you? How to tell when you&;re being monitored; and how to determine what is acceptable and what isn&;t.   Michael Miller has written more than 80 nonfiction books over the past two decades. His best-selling books include Que&;s YouTube 4 You, Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, iPodpedia: The Ultimate iPod and iTunes Resource, and Absolute Beginner&;s Guide to Computer Basics. He has established a reputation for clearly explaining technical topics to nontechnical readers and for offering useful real-world advice about complicated topics.  

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2008

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spam. Phishing. Identity theft. Sometimes it seems like wherever we turn someone is out to get our personal information for malicious purposes.

How real are the risks? Is it all media hype meant to make us all fearful? Are we unknowingly putting ourselves at risk? What do we need to do to protect ourselves?

Is It Safe? looks at the real risks when we go online. The book puts away a lot of myths about the dangers of the information age while explaining exactly what spyware, viruses, spam, phishing scams actually work. The author also looks at the most common ways that credit card fraud and identity theft are conducted.

I have to admit, I thought I was pretty computer savy but much of the information in this book surprised me. There’s so much more to computer security than doing a virus or spyware scan every now and then.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good & insightful book that offers quality tips on how to improve your daily computer security.