The Internet is an unlimited sea of information. The user can find information about virtually everything, tangible and intangible, on the web. But, in the cyber world, while users browse various resources for information, there are other unscrupulous blokes who secretly access the personal information of others without their knowledge. Such people who clandestinely breach into other’s private space are technically termed as Hackers.

Hackers steal personal information of others using malicious programs called spy-wares. Spy-wares, after duping the user security, eves drop on the user computer and collect and send back their personal information stored in the computer back to the hacker. The hackers then use this information for misuse, which may range from minor offenses like corrupting messages on a home page to more serious crimes such as accessing bank accounts and forging user-ids and pins.

From a user point of view, it is difficult to track down a hacker or to realize when the hacking is even taken place. This is because the spy-wares usually make its way into the user PC stealthily such that even a good enough antivirus / antispyware may fail to take notice of the intrusion. As new versions of anti-spywares hit the market now and then, the latest spy-wares also update themselves to give the newer protection tools a miss. Mind you, software’s are the products of superior brains, but in this case, they are available freely on both sides. In simple terms, Internet users can never have a complete assurance of security with any antispyware tools.

So what to do in order to protect your personal information from hackers? Well, the old saying – prevention is better than cure – is relevant in this context. By following some simple and easy to follow defensive steps, one can prevent one’s personal information from hacking to a larger extent. For example, if you use a public computer,

· Never send any personal information nor store anything in the hard drive. Even if you are sending information to a secured site, there is the chance of getting the data hacked. Mind you, the site may be secured, but the computer you operate may not.

· Check the private policy of the public facility you are about to use to see if there is necessary precautions in place. If the facility lacks a private policy, assume that every key press is being logged – by somebody – and hence better keep off from sending/receiving any secret information.

· There are software’s that can even hack data send through wireless enabled laptops. Even the aerial route is not safe, something you should keep in your thoughts.

If you are using your personal PC, in order to prevent malicious programs from entering it, never open unsolicited mails and attachments, keep off from strange sites – sites with lot of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors – and never ever open links sent to your mail box from people that you don’t know. The site to which it leads may be a spy-ware storehouse.

To conclude, it is virtually impossible to provide fool proof security for something like the World Wide Web, which is accessed by millions from across the world. Therefore, it is the user’s responsibility to take care of his/her PC - and hence personal information - from being eaves dropped by others.

Never ever let you drop your guard while browsing the internet. There are always spy-wares on the prowl looking for chinks in your armor. I hope that this article will help you to better protect your personal information from being hacked.

Keisha Seaton is the owner of http://my-articles.com. To read more Security Articles please visit http://www.my-articles.com/Category/-Security/206.