With the number of identity theft victims rising each year, along with victims of similar such white-collar crimes, protecting your personal information online is crucial. In certain cases, leaking your financial information can be as easy as visiting a web page without the proper active x control settings.

What many people don’t realize is that viruses and trojan keyloggers do not always come in the form of a shady attachment that has to be downloaded, they can be attained in what is commonly referred to as a “drive by download.Didn’t catch that? This explains it.” This simply means that an unsuspecting user has visited a web page, and by that very action they have initiated an unwanted download containing a virus or other such malware.

These malware programs typically have a couple of intentions, one of them being to cause harm to your files and system overall. As bad as this sounds, it is not the worst purpose. The other most common purpose of these programs is to record your keystrokes and hack into your accounts, something known as a keylogger. These keyloggers record credit card information and any financial data that you have entered since the keylogger was downloaded.

Keyloggers have the ability to run undetected by virus scanners, and often mask themselves as a legitimate program on your system. Fortunately with the right combination of protective measures, you can make sure your system does not succumb to this.

It is advised to have a good antivirus program, as well as a good spyware program. This will cover a broad ranger of possible infections, and give you an added layer of protection. The next thing to make sure you have in place is a firewall, with the proper settings. The most important thing you can do however, is never enter information online at a site you are doubtful of.

Always make sure that any financial information entered is at the official site, and not a look-a-like. Be observant of system performance, and if you suspect a virus, do not enter any sensitive information until you have cleared the system of the potential threat. These are just basic measures that can help if implemented, but there are always more things you can do to increase your protection.