Computer & Email Safety

Here are some tips you can use to protect you and your computer.

Install anti-virus software.

Whatever you call it-viruses, spyware, trojans, keyloggers, or malware-they're the woes of our computers. Good anti-virus software is important to keeping your computer safe and your information. Anti-virus software will block known malicious programs from stealing your information. Anti-virus software should be set to update automatically. Make sure your computer is kept up-to-date. Your computer should be set to update automatically update the operating system software. Don't forget to make sure supplemental software you may also use, such as, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Flash, and Java are kept up-to-date too. Out-of-date software is vulnerable to hackers. You may not use all this software with Kinecta' s online banking; however, hackers may take advantage of your unpatched computer when you visit other sits.

Use a trusted computer.

Do not use computers you are not familiar with-especially public computers and especially for on line banking. You don't know if the computer is safe. Hackers could have put malicious software on the computer to capture your account number and password.

Secure your wireless network and be careful of public wireless networks.

Wireless networks (Wi-Fi) are very convenient. We take them for granted to connect our laptops and even our smartphones to the Internet. However, as convenient as they are, you must take steps to protect yourself from eavesdroppers looking to steal your information.

If you have a Wi-Fi network at home, make sure it's encrypted using a method called WPA2 and make sure the password to connect to the network is shared with only trusted users. As with all passwords, your wireless network password should be strong.

Be very careful using public Wi-Fi networks popular at libraries, hotels, airports, and coffee shops. You never know who else might be on the network. If you must use a public wireless network, send information only to sites that use encryption. Look for https at the start of the web address. The "s" in https stands for secure.

Always log out when you are done.

A hacker can't take immediate control of your online service if you are logged out. Whether it's on line banking, email, or any other service you log in to, if you are done or if you will not be using it for several minutes, it's good practice to simply log off.

Use a strong password and never give it to anyone.

Kinecta has safety measures with our on line banking website to prevent hackers from trying to repeatedly guess your password. However, it is good practice to always use a strong password. Make sure you select a password that is difficult to guess yet easy for you to remember. Use upper and lowercase letters and numbers. You should also change your password regularly. Don't use your online banking password for any other service. Also, never give your password to anyone! No one at Kinecta will ever ask you for your password. Your online banking password is encrypted so not even Kinecta representatives can see or verify your password.

Phishing—Be careful opening attachments and clicking links.

Phishing is where a fraudster or scammer sends a victim an email in order to "lure" the victim to "bite" at replying, opening an attachment, or clicking a link in the message. The consequence may be getting a computer virus, a request to wire money, or provide personal information such as your social security number, account number, password, PIN, or credit card number. These types of messages try to look convincing by impersonating a legitimate company, such as your credit union, bank, or maybe even an on line shopping service. The phishing message may even come from a friend. Phishing coming from a friend usually means your friend got a virus and it's sending email to everyone in the contacts list. The email may be as crude as putting a link in the message or elaborate as having a story where your friend got robbed while on vacation and needs your help. If you receive a phishing email, do not open any attachments or click on any links. Delete the email.

Be careful sending personal information through email. Traditional email is not a safe way to send personal information, such as your social security number. Hackers can intercept your email and read your information. If you want to contact Kinecta, log in to your on line banking and click "Contact us"-or call our Member Contact Center.

Additional Information and Resources

• Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for information on securing your computer.
• Norton Safe Web and McAfee SiteAdvisor are websites to help you check if a website is safe before clicking its link.