****W A R N I N G !****

Your computer and your identity are at risk!

eBay has now become one of the MOST Dangerous computer attack sites on the Internet!

 
If you are a regular on eBay like I am, there are several steps you need to take every single time you enter or leave eBay!  You need to do this religiously...because just one time of not doing this can make your life complete H-ll!

ALWAYS remember to CLOSE YOUR BROWSER and DUMP the cache before you enter, and especially when you leave eBay, before going to other places on the Internet!

It is important that you should close your browser and dump your personal cache before and after entering eBay, or even Half Com, or Auctiva sites, because there are goons out there in Cyberspace who track you through the Internet, dumping spyware and malware onto your browser!  Quite often, virii are attached to this spyware!  I just removed ten from my computer files last night, after spending all day cruising eBay and working on my eBay store!  Five of them had virii attached.  My scanner caught them BEFORE they reached the files on my computer that were most susceptible to Trojan horses.

And NEVER CLICK ON LINKS that come in your e-mail from people CLAIMING to have sold you something or bought something of yours on eBay when you didn't buy anything from them, or sell anything of the sort!   Forward such e-mails instantly to spoof@ebay.com.  These folks got your eBay info by following you out of eBay with malware or spyware, and are hoping to get you to give them your eBay security info so they can take over your account.

This is NOT because of eBay!  EBay is a great site.  It is simply because so many millions of folks frequent eBay and similar sites, and most of us think we are safe.  We become a prime target for the jerks of the world.

Most knowledgeable Internet users already have a good anti-virus software on board, e-mail virus scanners, and spyware and ad blockers, but most everyday users don't understand how very IMPORTANT these things are for eBay users.

A good FIREWALL is important...not the stuff that sometimes actually loads spyware and adware into your browsers, but the paid-for kind, like the ones from Kerio, Norton or Grisoft (AVG), and if you are running older type browsers like Internet Explorer, you need to get a recent, high quality update.  Running an outdated browser from even one year ago is dangerous.  Always UPDATE your browser for additional Internet security and firewall capabilities if they become available.

Having a firewall with your high speed or cable-based Internet provider is great, but you should ALSO install one on your own computer, and there are some very good ones available for free trials so you can check them out before buying, like Kerio or AVG.

Of the FREE high-quality Internet browsers, Firefox is one of the best, but Opera and Mozilla are also great.   If you pay good money for a fancy browser, you want to ask a lot of questions about what you are paying for.  You want a Secure Socket Layer and you want high encryption, and you want speed and user-friendliness.

You can use Tweak-UI if you have it, and the "paranoia" button whenever you jump from secure sites to regular Internet, or vice-versa.  But if you don't have all the bells and whistles, one of the best ways to make sure there are no "trailers" on board is to shut down your browser and dump all Internet temp files (you can set your browser to do that) before going to any other websites.  I would highly suggest that you find a highly-successful spyware remover such as AVG from Grisoft, which costs very little and lasts for several years before you have to renew and pay again.  AVG version 8.0 has BOTH the virus scanner with all the bells and whistles, as well as a state of the art spyware scanner, and the updates are available daily!  I am certain that Norton and McAfee have comparable scanners.  Just find one and buy it and USE it!

I take no prisoners, and accept no passengers when I go online.  If anyone leaves me something I didn't ask for, I make sure it gets demolished as I leave the Internet.

I may sound paranoid and silly, that's okay by me...because I have had to get my hard drive wiped and changed out so many times over the past ten years because of viral attacks and trash that I picked up online, I decided to wear a flack jacket and helmet before going online.  State of the art virus scanners that update DAILY, spyware scanners that update DAILY, and a good firewall are imperative if you are an eBay buyer or seller!

Safe is far better than sorry.