We’ve all heard horror stories about people having their bank accounts cleared out or their identies stolen, so we should all take some simple precautions to prevent us from being easy targets on line.

Check out Girl Geek’s top ten list to staying safe on line:

1. Strong Passwords

• Use different passwords for all the accounts you may have, this makes a hacker’s job much more difficult.
• Use strong passwords so this means a combination of letters, numbers and common symbols, generally more than 7 letters long.

2. Suspicious emails

• Phishing is a technique where you get a fake email which appears to be from a site you may use regularly. The email may ask you to update details and click a link to do so where they can then harvest your details.
• If you get an email that seems dodgey, don’t do what it is requesting!

3. Keep your wits about you

• If you get, for example, an email from a man offering you hundereds of thousands of pounds and you don’t even know him then yes, this is obviuolsy too good to be true and a con.
• It’s a scam, if you get one, delete it.

4. Secure your wireless network

• Do not leave your wireless network at home un-secure as your network can be hacked and your broadband connection can be used by other people.
• Use some form of wireless encryption (WPA or WPA2), use a strong adminstrator password and ensure only known computers can connect to your network.

5. Shop at secure sites

• Make sure there is a closed padlock in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
• Make sure there is https:// in the address ba

6. Firewall

• A firewall is a piece of software which makes your computer invisible to hackers searching for soft targets to hack.
• Use a quality firewall to stop hackers cracking your computer’s security easily.

7. Anti-virus / Anti-spyware software

• Install a good quality anti virus software on your computer.
• Keep it up to date as new viruses are being released all the time.
• Install anti-spyware software such as Microsoft Defender

8. Take care when downloading

• Make sure you trust the site you are downloading from.
• Some disreputable sites may attach spyware to another innocent package you are downloading which can send information from your computer back to criminals, be careful of this.

9. Be responsible

• Don’t think “oh, it will never happen to me” and not bother taking precautions.
• Security is your responsibility.

10. Keep sensitive data private

• Be aware not to give too much personal information away on line
• Social networking sites are accessible by everyone so do not add loads of personal details including date of birth as this gives people access to your identity.

I love handbags so this fashion/tech bag combo really caught my eye.  BagTV combines luxury handbags and high tech equipment to create a new concept in handbag design. Is this really going to be the latest must have fashion accessory? I’m not sure, it just makes it seem more nickable to me!

They come in a range of colours and fabrics and have a TV screen, DVD and Mpeg player integrated into the handbag design itself. It also has a USB and SD slot allowing connectivity to digital cameras and computers, so you could have a slideshow of your photos if you really wanted to - not sure why you want to do that on your handbag though.

You can play up to 2.5hours of movies on there before recharging with the mains or car charger. It definitely is a fashion statement and probably quite useful for busy mums who need to stick their kids in front of a movie when they are out an about.

It retails at £295, for more details check out www.bagtv.com.

What do you think, love it or leave it ?

Dear Girl Geek

I am interested in getting a laptop for me and my granddaughter to share. Something quite small and manageable. I have seen an Asus 7″ Eeepc in a magazine with 512MB and 8GB flash (whatever that means!) do you think this would be suitable? If not can you please suggest something that would.

Thanks

Josie

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The My Weigh FUNWEIGH is just hilarious and is a great christmas pressie idea - for someone that will see the funny side obviously. It’s not only a full featured talking scale but it also jokes with you about your weight.

Here’s an example weighing; “Two Hundred Thirty Four Point Five Pounds, You’re not big boned - you’re just Fat!”or “I think you just broke me”. It’s pretty funny and will add a whole new dimension to weighing yourself!

It cycles randomly through 8 joke expressions including ”It’s a good thing I talk because you probably can’t see me”, “gasp gasp can’t breathe”, “Back AWAY from the scale” and many more.

It’s available on line at various outlets. Checkout http://www.myweigh.com/scales/large-scales/funweigh-joking-scale for more details.

For all of you who maybe going away for the holidays, check out www.roamingadvisor.com to get the latest SIM card prices and roaming call charges for your chosen destination. It is the only independent roaming cost comparison engine on the web to help you cut costs when using your mobile abroad and it really is quite a handy little site.

It offers independent reviews and comparisons of all commercially available mobile roaming SIM cards in the UK. Compares SIM card prices and roaming charges on both inbound and outbound roaming calls making it easier for you to find a mobile roaming SIM card that suits your individual travel needs. 

You simply select the destination you are travelling to and see how much you can save!

Check out the website for further details.