Internet security for the elderly
Internet security is one of the great invisible challenges of our age. National spy agencies and even armies pour millions into dealing with a multitude of online security challenges from governments, scammers, criminals and malicious computer geeks.
Not surprisingly, this is a personal concern for Internet users as well. A good working knowledge of how to make sure you are using the Internet securely, as far as is possible, is a must in 2014. Fortunately, though, it is also a relatively easy thing to achieve. You do not need an in-depth working knowledge of computers, the Internet or even the world of internet security in order to keep yourself safe. Instead, a strong set of general principles are worth sticking to.
A large element of Internet security risks for older people is their personal information. Again, this sounds really quite worrying at first glance. So much of your information is out there to be protected: your name, address, bank details, often shopping preferences and – in the case of the huge numbers of people using social media –photographs, personal relationships and interests as well. It seems like a goldmine for identity thieves and scammers. And it is.
The upside of this is that the simple step of remembering this when asked to hand over information is a giant leap towards keeping your information secure. Does your older relative need to share a dozen photographs of friends and family? Do they need to tell websites the intricate details of their shopping and recreational habits?
As ever, the biggest single risk is money. Internet banking and shopping have a huge range of advantages – you can browse through as many products as you could ask for without having to drive to a supermarket or wade through crowds of enthusiastic shoppers. You can see and manage your finances from your kitchen table. These facilities are invaluable. However, it is wise to make sure your elderly relatives are aware of the dangers that these seemingly convenient services pose.
The thing to remember is whenever money is involved is that you need to be absolutely sure you only share your financial details with people you can trust. Your bank’s website should be secure, and a little green padlock beside the website’s name (this is in the top left hand corner of your screen, before the writing that starts with, “https://”) is your computer’s way of confirming to you that it is the genuine website.
The same is true of email. On receiving an email from a mysterious bank asking for your financial details, it may be tempting to reply. The equivalent of this in ‘real life’ is of an individual walking up to your door, claiming to represent a bank, and asking for your credit card number. Would you give it to them? The same thought process should apply: can they prove who they are?
Perhaps a more realistic comparison would be that of receiving a letter in the post. When your bank sends you post, they send it on headed paper with plenty of details proving it is from your bank. These letters are rarely unexpected – and when they are, dropping in to your local bank or picking up the phone is the way most of us deal with them. It is a good idea to adopt exactly the same approach online.
Banks, online shops and other websites who may hold a person’s financial details should have the best internet security features. These are something you should look out for – do small companies offer ‘secure pay’? Does your bank offer you security features (they all will)?
A note of caution here: we are all human, and these security features do get breached on occasion. The people who breach them are also human and, conveniently, often do not have a perfect grasp of English. If any website or email reads strangely, or looks as though it may not have been written by who it claims to have been written by, this should ring a warning bell. It may be worth picking up the phone if you notice this in an email or on a website you should be able to trust.
For many users, it may also be worthwhile installing a ‘plugin’ to protect your information. If you have an elderly relative who would benefit from this, it would be wise to have it installed for them. A ‘plugin’ does what it says on the tin: you install it from the Internet and it ‘plugs in’ to your internet. Some ‘plugins’ will limit how much of what you’re doing is recorded by the internet. Others ‘code’ the information going through your computer, again making it harder for anybody malicious out there to get your information.
These different features and steps might seem like a bit of a mountain, but they do largely distil down to reminding yourself that what happens online is really not dissimilar to what happens on the street. By treating an elderly person’s information as you would in public and responding to odd requests as you would in person, you are already going a long way towards keeping potentially vulnerable older online users secure.
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