Knowing how to use your Internet browser safely is part of your overall cyber security approach.
Tabs in a browser – when you browse on the Internet, if a page that you visit has unfriendly code, then it can be left around in memory to interfere with the next page that you load. It is simply good practice to always open a new browser window when starting a new line of browsing. This is especially important before going to any of your financial websites as it gives a clean sanitised environment with no left over code running in the browser.
Links in email messages – links that point you to a bad landing page are a common way for thieves to try and harvest your credentials. You can see where the link is going by hovering the mouse over the link in the email. If the website domain doesn’t match the stated intent of the email, then you can be sure that it is rubbish. It is a good idea to block the sender of these incoming bad emails. Particularly for financial websites, never follow a link in an email, even if you are satisfied that it is genuine. Always go direct to your financial institution and bookmark their page, then from a new browser window follow your own bookmark to the financial institution. This practice alone will ensure that you will never go to a bad site that is pretending to be your financial institution.
