Week 10 - Chapter 19 The Perils of the Internet and What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

"The perils and pitfalls of doing business online...

Every kind of person who exists offline also exists online. That part you knew. What you may not be aware of is that the nasty kinds of people are out there in much larger numbers on the Net than you're ever likely to see in real life.

There are a few reasons for this...In short, the Internet is a magnet for the bad guys. And that's without ever considering the problems from the technology!

The good news is, with a surprisingly small amount of effort, you can protect yourself against most of these problems and go happily about your business." (Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars, Mitch Meyerson, pg220)

The reason for this is that there are more people online than offline and you are in contact with people globally. Another factor is that it is easy for people to be and stay anonymous online which gives an incentive to the crooks to prowl for inexperienced victims. Also it's simple for one person to use an automated system to hit millions of people at once with spam, cons, and virus infection.

So what's a person to do? Some of the suggestions were to use a SpamAssassin or another dependable spam filter that your ISP or Web host offers. And remember that no spam filter is ever 100% reliable, but the better ones can save you from wasting an awful lot of time that amounts to an awful lot of money. It is also recommended to have two separate e-mail addresses. Use one e-mail address for public use such as for your business, and the other e-mail address for your personal life, for friends, family, etc.

With a small amount of effort such as the few things above a person can protect themselves against most of these problems.