Autosurfing and Internet Security

YOU MUST PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER!

Autosurfing / Profit Sharing can be a risky business. The first thing I would suggest is that you make sure your computer is free of viruses and spyware etc.

If you don't already have it you should download Spybot and Ad-aware and run them. Also you might like to download and Install Ewido Antispyware to catch anything else that is lurking around.

You might ask why do we have to have so many different Anti-Spyware programs..

Software companies work hard at trying to keep up with all the nasties out there on the internet. If you take any 1 piece of Anti Spyware or Anti Virus software, you will find that it will not find all nasties in your computer. This is why I suggest you install and run at least the 3 I have just mentioned on a regular basis. Its not hard to do and you could be kicking yourself If you don't do it.

Once you have done that you should make sure you have a decent Anti-Virus program loaded. AVG antivirus is free. But there are many on the market and you should maybe do some research to see what best suits you. Please ensure you keep them updated to ensure your system runs clean and continues to run clean.

These are all free to download, and should give you all the protection you need. Don't use the same password for every surfing and egold account. If you have been in the habit of doing this for simplicity sake, change them NOW. Think how many autosurf sites have gone out of business and every one of them has a list of email addresses and passwords.

Some (not all) of these people have already proved themselves to be thieves, and it would be a simple matter for Joe Bloggs or whoever to login to hundreds of autosurf accounts and change the payment details. Here are some links to Anti-Virus, and Anti-Spyware protection / removal programs that you can download for free.

AVG-This is a highly recommended, free Anti-Virus. Although I believe this will not be free to download for much longer.

EWIDO AntiSpyware. One of the newest on the market. Has proven itself to be very good. I installed it and found more nasties I didnt know I had. It has a 30 day free trial, but after the trial version time (30 days) you can still use this as a free version, but this version will need to be manually updated so it still removes and also detected threats.

Ad-Aware -This program gives advanced protection from known Data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components.

SpyBot Search and Destroy-This program will wipe out any spyware that makes it onto your PC and protect against hijack attempts.

CCleaner-Removes unused and temporary files from your systems, allowing Windows to run quicker, more efficiently and give you more hard disk space.

BROWSERS

DONOT use Internet Explorer, There are a lot of security problems with IE. Even the new version. It is on everyones computer and because so many people use it, it makes it easier for hackers to hack into your computer.

Mozilla Firefox- Mozilla is the browser of choice for many internet marketers and autosurfers.
The award-winning Web browser is now faster, more secure, and fully customizable to your online life. With Firefox 2, they have added powerful new features that make your online experience even better.

Emailing is a risky business, particularly if you use Yahoo or Hotmail addresses. Any email can arrive in your email box with a virus attached. Open the email and off it goes. A potential trap.
You can use a program like Mail Washer to check your emails before they even arrive on your computer. Then if you find it is a spam email for from someone you don't know, you can bounce it right back to them.

Having money in payment processor accounts is a risky business.

When I log into my e-gold account sometimes I cannot get in until they send me a pin number by email and I enter that pin number as well as my account number and password.

Is my e-gold account secure? NO!

Of all the payment processors out there E-gold would appear to be the easiest to hack. They even have forums on that very subject.
I have investigated some of the hacking stories I that I have heard about, So I decided to see how easy it is. By doing a Google search for "hack e-gold" (without the quotes) and I came up with 242,000 results. Pretty scary isn't it?

How about "hack paypal" (without the quotes) and even scarier with 1,180,000 results. By the way, I wouldn't recommend trying any of this software or information. It might be reverse engineered, so it could well pick your details up.
You may just be giving your email address to one of these lowlifes, and if you have an E-Gold, Bam, It could be emptied.

My recommendations :-

1. Do not keep large amounts of money in payment processors.

2. Never click on any links in emails purporting to be from payment processors. (I have had one of these and knew it wasnt from E-Gold. DELETED)

3. Change Your Password Frequently: You don’t know whether your last deal was with a genuine businessman or a hacker. Even if he has a real business, it will take only a few seconds to change your password after each transaction. If that is not possible then change your password at least once a week. I like to change mine just before a payout.

4. Never email your username and password to anyone.

5. Always log in from your "favorites" folder. Or put a Shortcut on your desktop.

6. Always log out after visiting your payment processor.

7. Always ask for email notification of each transaction, if this is possible.

8. Always use long and complicated passwords, combining upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. So if you were to use the word Password ( and I would hope you don't) use something like pa55w0rd.

Password Manager

Keep your passwords safe. There are two ways I know of to do this. One is to produce passwords and place them on a notepad while offline and keep the notepad on a floppy or flashdrive. Then use the floppy/notepad when online to copy/paste passwords. This way they don't have to be remembered and can be quite obscure. Another, and the one I use is http://www.roboform.com/ You can easily create obscure passwords, then store them in an encrypted vault, then access your sites with one click. It also enables you to change your password often with a couple of clicks of the mouse. You can sign up for free, but will need to upgrade for $30 at some stage. There is also a provision to backup all your passwords, so if you have a crash you don't lose them.

So please remember, take the security of your username and password seriously, and take every precaution with spyware and viruses.

Other Resourses

MWSnap - Some people would like to get a snap of your screen. With this program you can just press a combination of Keys and then select the area you want to copy, and it is done. Save it and use the saved image where you want.

Questions or Comments

Any comments or questions, please feel free to