Stay Safe Online - Exercises

Exercises

Exercise 1 - Protect yourself against scams

1. Start Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Firefox.

2. Enter www.getsafeonline.org into the address box.

3. Scroll down the page and follow the links to “What to watch out for, Current scams”.

4. Find out about some common scams and check the latest information.

5. If you are new to the internet click on “New to the internet?” For their top 10 tips.

Exercise 1a - Could you resist the tactics used in online scams?

More than a quarter of us have fallen prey to an online scam. Even though the majority of victims thought something fishy was going on they continued with the transaction anyway. Which? explain the top seven mind games scammers use to get you to go against your gut.

1. Click on Mind games: 7 ways scammers win you over.

2. Find out more: Click on The Which? guide to internet scams.

3. Take the Which? Test: Click on Are you an easy fraud target? Scroll down the page to Fraud Risk Quiz.

4. Fake ads look real: How to spot a fake, fraudulent or scam website.

Exercise 1b - How to report a scam

If you spot a scam, it’s not always clear who you should report it to: it depends on whether it’s an email scam, telephone scam or another type of fraud. Which? have compiled a number of helpful notes, read
How to report a scam to find:

How to Report email scams to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Company being spoofed.
Letter template to help get your money reimbursed.
Report internet fraud to Action Fraud http://www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Report scam mail to Royal Mail and and Stop scam mail.

Exercise 2 – Can you spot a genuine email from a fake?

No matter how careful you are, it's easy to be caught out by scammers and it's happening to millions of people all over the UK.

1. If you don't think you can spot a genuine email from a fake, try this online quiz from Which?: https://whichcouk.bsd.net/page/content/emailquiz/no

2. Now, to see if you could tell a real email from a scam, try this online quiz from Which?: https://whichcouk.bsd.net/page/content/emailquiz/yes

Exercise 3 – Find out about a Hoax virus warning

1. You have received a very worrying email. The e-mail warns recipients of a recent outbreak of Olympic Torch viruses, contained in e-mails titled "Invitation", which erase the hard disk of the user's computer when opened.

2. Find out whether it is real or a hoax. Enter Invitation Virus into the Google search box.

3. Follow the links to find out as much as you can, eg Wikipedia. How long has this hoax been circulating?

4. Also check with any anti-hoax website:

a. Hoaxbusters, www.hoaxbusters.org

b. Hoax-Slayer, www.hoax-slayer.com/site-search.html

c. Snopes www.snopes.com/computer/computer.asp#virus

5. Alternatively use Google to search for Olympic Torch hoax.

Exercise 4 – Check how Secure are your Passwords

You do have lots of different passwords for different service providers, don’t you?

1. Enter https://howsecureismypassword.net into the browser address bar.

1.1. Click on Test Password Strength.

1.2. Enter your password into the box. The strength of your password will be indicated in the Password Strength.

2. Alternatively try my1login. Enter https://www.my1login.com/resources/password-strength-test

2.1 Enter your password into the box. The strength of your password will be indicated below together with the time it might take to crack your password.

3. My1login also shows how many Lower case, Upper case, Numbers and Symbols are used.

4. If your password is weak try KeePass or LastPass to create and remember stronger passwords? Both free!

Exercise 4a – Has your password been stolen by hackers?

Use the website “Have I Been Pawned” to find out if you have an account that has been compromised in a data breach or whether your password has been stolen by hackers.

1. Enter https://haveibeenpwned.com and your email address into the box.

2. Click on Passwords and enter your password(s) into the box.

Exercise 5 – Find out what is on the Internet about you

1. Start Internet Explorer and run Google, www.google.co.uk.

2. Enter your name in the search box.

3. Make a note of anything you find, and the website giving information about you, especially information you would like removed.

Exercise 6 – Check how vulnerable is your computer – PCs only

Enter www.auditmypc.com into the Internet Explorer address bar.

1. Click on Firewall Test then scroll down the page and click on Start Now!
List how many of the ports are open.

2. Click on Digital Footprint. Make a note of anything found, especially if there is a warning about the internal IP address of the computer.