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Please help us with a fraud situation

We had some identity thefts situations with our credit cards and Bank
accounts.
People using our credit cards and writing checks against our account.

How can I set up a really secure internet connection in my home ?

I use a Windows XP - wireless laptop to access the internet I have
in my home.
We use Comcast cable.
We have a WPA secure internet. We use a Netgear Rangemax MIMO
and the Comcast modem.

Somehow some people have managed to get both our credit card numbers
and bank account numbers and even driving license number.

I use this internet to access all our bank accounts etc.

Because of the fraud that occurred, we want to make sure that
we have a really secure internet connection.

What additional hardware, software etc do I need, if any ?
Since I am not a techie, pls help me with as much detail as possible.


Thanks in advance for your help,

Irfan Smith

On Tue, 27 May 2008 20:32:20 -0700, irfansmith wrote:

> Somehow some people have managed to get both our credit card numbers
> and bank account numbers and even driving license number.

1. Simple DO NOT KEEP this information on your computer.
2. Stop using a virus for an operating system (windows)
3. Hire a security consultant to set everything up for you.
4. Learn to secure your systems.


--

Regards
Robert

Smile... it increases your face value!
Linux User #296285
http://counter.li.org



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Let's see if I can be more helpful.

I assume these were acquired through your computer. If so,

1. It is better to keep your passwords, creditcard numbers, pins, etc. on
your computer rather than on paper somewhere around the house. Make sure
all of this is stored in an encrypted file. MS Excel and word have "Save
As" features that allow you to save the file with read/write passwords.
When one has access to 30 or forty systems with 12 character passwords, my
memory bank fails me.

2. Make sure your computer is protected with a strong password. Remember
it as "My mother always gave me one instant cocoa every day" and then use
the first character of every word to come up with "Mmagm1!ced" - this is a
very strong password that would take months to crack - this is the key to
your kingdom. Put a similar password on your encrypted file.

3. Install a firewall - ZoneAlarm is good and it is free
Install a virus checker - AVG is good and it is free. I put this on
some client computers and it caught viruses that Norton missed - I'm sure it
works the other way around as well.
Install a spyware monitor such as Spysweeper or PestPatrol - these are
not free. I bought a 3 copy license of Pest Patrol for $30 - no annual fee.
I used Spysweeper for a while - nice piece of software.
Scan your computer routinely with Spybot and AdAware - sometimes they
catch things the active monitoring software misses.

4. This is the important one. I ran a network with over 25,000 people on
it and constantly trained new employees and reminded seasoned ones to not
open e-mails of questionable origin. While the virus checker usually gets
these, sometimes it does not. When the "I Love You" virus hit, one new
employee opened it and it was contained and snuffed out. A looser
organization, similar to mine, went down for two weeks with over 200
openings. PRACTICE SAFE COMPUTING - Your best line of defense.

Bob

"Robert" <> wrote in message
news e...
> On Tue, 27 May 2008 20:32:20 -0700, irfansmith wrote:
>
>> Somehow some people have managed to get both our credit card numbers
>> and bank account numbers and even driving license number.
>
> 1. Simple DO NOT KEEP this information on your computer.
> 2. Stop using a virus for an operating system (windows)
> 3. Hire a security consultant to set everything up for you.
> 4. Learn to secure your systems.
>
>
> --
>
> Regards
> Robert
>
> Smile... it increases your face value!
> Linux User #296285
> http://counter.li.org
>
>
>
> ----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet
> News==----
> http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000
> Newsgroups
> ---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =---