Special Report: Cyber sneaks

Freezing, crashing or slowing down, all signs your computer safety could be compromised!

Agent Clive Jaffe, Geek Squad
"You really have to be careful where you go today."

Not only could you lose your files, you could lose your identity.

Computer user
"I think it's very disturbing."

Michelle used this home office desktop every day...

Michelle, Computer Got Virus
"We realized something was really wrong."

...until it was struck by spyware.

Michelle, Computer Got Virus
"I couldn't receive anything. We couldn't do anything on it."

Luckily she caught the problem early, but many people don't. And that's when cyber thieves can step in to steal your private information.

Agent Clive Jaffe, Geek Squad
"Social security numbers, bank account numbers, bank account passwords."

The best defense is a good offense. The more you know about hackers, the more you can protect yourself.

Beware of "pharmers," they attack your Internet address bar, pulling a bait and switch. So even if you type in a real web address you get directed to their identical, but fake, website. And that's where they can steal any private data you type in.

Computer user
"It makes me feel a little afraid."

To keep your secrets safe always change a new computer's router name and password, check web addresses for spelling substitutions like the number "1" instead of the letter "L" and don't use public computers for personal information.

From pharming to phishing. Watch out for emails that look like they're from legitimate companies.

Agent Clive Jaffe, Geek Squad
"We've all got these emails saying there's something wrong with your bank account, someone's hacked into your bank account, please click on this button, fill in the form so that we can fix it up."

But when you click, any personal info you type in goes straight to the scammers.

Computer user
"It's terrible, it really is. It makes it that you can't trust whatever you're getting in emails."

The experts say don't respond to e-mails asking for personal or financial info, don't ever click on any links in those suspicious e-mails and instead go to the real website directly to check for any alerts.

If you don't want your private data to get kidnapped, look out for ransomware. That's when hackers get into your hard drive and hold your computer files "hostage." If you don't pay the "ransom," they make sure you can't access them.

Agent Clive Jaffe, Geek Squad
"One type of ransomware is if you don't pay them $10.99 to a certain account, they start deleting your data after 30 minutes."

Computer user
"I didn't even know that they were able to do that."

The best defense, back up your files frequently and be careful about what you download online and from e-mails.

And finally, an e-card may seem harmless but some could spell trouble. E-mail greetings from someone generic like a "colleague" or a "classmate" are a scam. And those fake e-cards send you to a website that secretly installs software to watch your every move.

Computer user
"It's an invasion of privacy."

Bottom line, don't open e-mails or click on links from people you don't know.

And the pros say keep your anti-virus programs updated. They'll catch things you don't, so you can keep your computer safe from cyber sneaks.

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)