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Basic Security

• Provide personal information only to Web sites that you consider to be reputable and to have a valid reason for asking for the information.
  
  
• What Could Your Browser Tell?
  Think carefully about what personal profile information you configure into your Web browser. For example, some Web browsers let you create a personal profile that includes not only your business addresses and phone number, but your age, gender, children's names, group memberships, home address, and home telephone number. In order to deliver customized content based, for example, on your gender or hobbies, a Web site may tap into your profile. So before you fill in any of the blanks in a profile, ask yourself whether you want a Web site to know that information.

• Consider Combinations of Information
  Even if a single piece of information—such as your mother's maiden name—seems fairly innocuous, consider how it might be used if combined with other information about you that's available online. For example, a birth date and postal code alone might be enough to identify a person who lives in a rural area. When you are choosing a user ID and password, many Web sites will offer you a choice of "secret" questions that you can answer to confirm your identity should you forget your password. Avoid questions that could reveal personally identifiable information, such as your mother's maiden name. By knowing that single piece of information, an unauthorized user may be able to access sensitive information you have stored on that site, such as your credit card number or your health history.
  
  
• Be Careful What You Share:
  If you use a computer in a public space, such as a library or Internet café, always sign out of any account you have accessed and close the browser before you walk away. If you don't, the next person who uses the computer might be able to access the information you entered.