Passwords easy prey
Saving passwords to your web browser might be convenient but it is a serious IT faux pas if they lead to any valuable information, a Christchurch computer expert says.
Care Free Computing owner Jonathan Ellery says especially for bank accounts letting Chrome or Firefox save the password is ‘‘100 per cent a bad idea’’ because it is through browser information that hackers are often able to access and transfer funds.
Ellery says phone call scams are still a major problem in New Zealand, with hackers usually pretending to call on behalf of a legitimate company such as Spark in order to solve an alleged problem with a user’s computer.
People will typically be asked to install a program like Team Viewer that allows remote access. Once in, hackers can rifle through the personal contents of a computer, including browser settings.
‘‘I’ve heard of someone who spent half a day on the phone with them. There’s no knowing where they are, they could be anywhere in the world,’’ Ellery says.
‘‘We can remove Team Viewer but if they’ve already got the information and money, it’s too late.’’
Ellery says people should be careful not to give unverified people access to their computer.
Installing an effective antivirus program can also be helpful, with the ESET software available through Care Free Computing allowing people to use online banking services through a special window created by the program. ‘‘It’s a very good, stable antivirus that we can install for people,’’ he says.
Care Free Computing also provides general servicing of computers. This is recommended at least every couple of years. As well as providing a physical clean to preserve computer parts, a service also clears away those hangers-on systems inevitably collect during internet browsing.
Ellery says it is not uncommon for some of those unwanted bugs to be running surreptitiously in the background, saving information to release later if a more malicious program is installed by accident.
Care Free Computer offers free pick-ups and drop-offs, or people with urgent needs can bring their computers to the company in Wigram.