Security
The Security Buzz Newsletter
The Security Buzz - a quarterly newsletter designed by MetaBank - devoted to your online security,
internet banking, security features, recommendations, and general awareness about the
protection of your information.
View current and archived articles.
Common Threats
- Internet Phishing Scams
- Phishing is a technique used to gain personal
information for purposes of identity theft,
using fraudulent e-mail messages that
appear to come from legitimate
businesses.
Banks will NOT ask for private information via email.
Click here to see some examples
- Social Network Attacks
- Subscribing to social networks such as Facebook via mobile phone also means that users transmit their mobile numbers to the web and thus become a target for hackers who are searching for the personal information of Internet users.
Protect Your Privacy
- Use Strong Passwords and Change Them Regularly
- A simple password, such as your dog's name, is not sufficient protection. To protect yourself against security threats, choose a strong password.
- HTTPS Is Your Friend
- When you're browsing the Web, protect yourself by using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) whenever possible.
- Avoid Public Computers and Wi-Fi
- As convenient as free Wi-Fi and publicly available computers may be at, say, a public library or café, using them can leave you and your personal information exposed. Public computers might be infected with spyware and other types of malware designed to track your movements online and harvest your passwords.
Protect Your Data/Device
- Install, Maintain and Apply Anti-Virus Programs
- If you're running antivirus software from two or three years ago, you should upgrade to the most recent version, even if you still receive up-to-date malware signature files for the older edition. The underlying technology for antivirus software has improved significantly in recent years.
- Keep Your Software Up-to-Date
- One of the simplest but most important security precautions you should take is to keep your PC's software up-to-date. I'm not talking exclusively about Windows here: Adobe, Apple, Mozilla, and other software makers periodically release fixes for various bugs and security flaws. Cybercriminals commonly exploit known vulnerabilities, and Adobe Reader is a constant target of such assaults.
- Lock Down Your Smartphone
- Your handset may contains lots of personal information--e-mail addresses, photos, phone contacts, Facebook and Twitter apps, and the like. That accumulation of valuable data makes smartphones a tempting target for thieves and cybercriminals, which is why the smartphone is shaping up as the next big security battleground.