Is your family safe online?

While it can also be an amazing resource for instant information, and social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster offer ways to make friends around the globe, the Web can be a dangerous place. That’s why Comcast wants to educate consumers about safety precautions for you and your family when going online.

Look out for phishing scams: phishing is when Internet scammers imitate legitimate companies in e-mails or Web sites to entice people to share their user names, passwords, account information, or credit card numbers. Many service providers have security updates available to their users. For example, Microsoft has recently created a security update for Internet Explorer that will help people avoid phishing scams.

Establish child safety and parental controls: Parents can use software to block the level of access when their children go online. They should also talk to their children about what they are doing online and with whom they are chatting.

Secure wireless networks: Wireless routers that are not secured are prime targets for people looking to access personal information or to download illegal content. Prevent others from stealing your Internet connection by password-protecting the wireless connection. Consult your hardware’s instruction manual to learn how to enable the security features to secure your network and access point.

Stay protected by doing the following:

• Update security software and virus protection programs regularly to thwart attackers.
• Use secure passwords that are a complex blend of letters and numbers.
• Make sure that children never give out personal information – even if the person on the other end of the Internet connection seems like a trustworthy source.