Welcome to “Security Threats: Safe Browsing Techniques.” After watching this video, you will be able to: explain what a cache is for, identify safe websites, and list adware risks. Autofill, or autocomplete, remembers and fills in specific information like passwords or addresses in a web browser. Without it, you’d have to repeatedly fill in passwords and form fields manually. This can get tedious, especially on mobile keyboards. You can configure autofill categories such as passwords, payment data, and addresses in your browser settings. When sharing devices with friends and family, set up guest accounts with different browser settings, and configure syncing so that autofill is only applied to the devices and browsers you want. A browser cache is a storage area that holds downloaded web pages you’ve visited. Cached pages load immediately. If a page has changed since the last cache, it is downloaded, displayed, and cached again. Over time, very large caches cause sluggish performance. A browser history is a list of every page you've visited and for how long. Browser histories help you find sites you visited, but they can also be used against you by family, hackers, or law enforcement. Use browser settings to clear history and cache, and to set cache disk space and expiration dates. Private browsing doesn’t save browsing history, cookies, site data, or form data. With private browsing: you appear as a new or unknown user on the sites you visit, other people who use the device won't see your history, cookies and site data are remembered while browsing but deleted when you exit the browser, but private browsing activity isn’t hidden from your employer or school, or your internet service provider (or ISP), the bookmarks you create will be kept. and downloaded files are saved to your Downloads folder which may be visible to other users. Malicious websites mimic real websites to trick users into entering login or payment data and can install malware that gathers personal information or takes over a device. Their URLs might use a zero instead of an “O” or a capital “i” instead of a lower case “L”. Their site pages often have typos or designs that don’t match the legitimate site they are mimicking. If you accidentally visit and enter information into a malicious website, exit the site, run antivirus and anti-malware, change your password, and (if needed) ask your bank for a new card. Identifying safe websites is more important than ever. Let’s review some safety tips: Use the Whois Lookup tool to see who owns a site. Missing contact information is a red flag. Look for reviews. Reddit and other social forums list scam sites and sites with security risks. Only visit HTTPS sites or your activity could be visible to online predators. Check the trust seal or security certificate information. And inspect URLs and site design to avoid malicious websites. Adware is malware that displays unwanted ads. Often bundled with apps, it activates on install. Adware can collect data, track online activity, or link out to malicious websites with viruses. It can also cause: sluggish system performance or crashes, changes to your browser’s home page, and the appearance of new extensions, toolbars, or software, and web pages not displaying properly. Popup ads and the sudden appearance of unfamiliar apps are the most common way to recognize adware. The aim of redirection is to point you towards certain types of advertising or dangerous code. Redirection is usually caused by adware or malware. This includes: toolbars or browser extensions that show alternate search results loaded with ads, malware that sabotages searches or typed-in URLs, and hacked website servers that redirect anyone who visits. Any connected device can be exploited, especially mobile phones since they don’t usually have antivirus software and other safeguards. To avoid hijacking software and redirects, set automatic updates for your browser, OS, and security tools, and run regular system scans. Search engines use algorithms to detect harmful sites. Browsers use those results to warn users. These sites may contain: malware, malicious code, phishing scams, or be hacked in some other way. If your browser tells you a site is unsafe, avoid that site. In this video, you learned that: Autofill keeps password, payment, and address data. Caches store downloaded webpages for fast loading. Private browsing deletes cookies, history, and cache. Safe websites use HTTPS, trust seals, and reviews. Adware can collect data, track online activity, link to malicious sites, and slow system performance. And search engine algorithms detect dangerous sites.
