Basic Security Safety

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As I'm sure some of you know by now, I am a pretty big stickler for security. As the "security guy" here at Worldstart, I am in charge of making sure that your stuff remains safe. To accomplish this, there are quite a few precautions that we take on our end. These measures that we take everyday ensure that information like your credit card number and your passwords are not vulnerable to theft.

While this might make you all feel a bit safer, the reason for this article is not to tell you that we are doing our part. The reason I am writing this is to make sure that you are doing your part.

I'll explain...

You see, no matter what any site does to secure your data, it cannot stop you from making the most dangerous, basic mistakes. This is why today I feel it necessary to cover some of those basics. All of the stories I am about to tell you have actually happened here at Worldstart, so it could happen to you.

1. Never email anything important.

Here's my 1st story. This happens to me almost once a week. Someone will decide that they want something from our store, but instead of using our secure order form, they will decide that they want to email me their order. The person will send me a list of the products they want to order along with their credit card number, address, and name! While this might seem like something reasonable to some of you, I assure you that it is not. When you send an email to someone, you should assume that anyone can read it. At any time, someone can intercept your email and see it. Sending a Credit card number, a password, or any other personal information is not a good idea via email.

As a matter of fact, unless you see "https://" in the address box when you are typing in your credit card number, the site is not secure. If it just says "http://" (notice the missing "s"), The page you are on is not secure!

2. Don't tell people your password. (No matter how much you trust them).

This happens to me daily. Someone will call in with trouble logging into the software store. I will ask them their username so I can reset their password. Instead of giving me their username, they will blurt out their user name and their password. Let me just get this off my chest. I DONT WANT TO KNOW YOUR PASSWORD! You see, there is a certain amount of liability that goes into knowing someone else's password. Let's just say that you call me and tell me your password. Now let's assume that your account gets stolen a couple days later. Hmm, now do you see how I become a suspect? I knew your password so I could have stolen your account!

So, let me get back to my point. Don't tell anyone your password. Even if you trust the person. Even if they are the "security guy" at Worldstart.

Till next time,

Stay safe out there! PLEASE!!!!

~Gary

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