Whether it’s for class or social networking, business or fun, vast numbers of people around the world use the Internet every day. Of course, not everyone does it for the best reasons. In 2009, the money suddenly lost from net breaches was more than half a billion, roughly double the damages from 2008 alone. Here are some of the more typical net breaches and tips on how you can defend against being targeted.

The most prevalent type of online irregularity is identity fraud. This occurs when someone creates a web page (or sends a mass email directing people to their web page) in the hope that the victim will provide their personal information, such as bank card details or SSN. The person or agency responsible for the fraud then uses your credit card for transactions or, in the case of bank cards, empties their account. This could also happen if you unknowingly acquired a computer virus from a web page or email plugin. You will need to be careful before getting any kind of attachment from unknown site and find some kind of antivirus protection on your system. Also, stay away from all unsolicited business proposals from those you don’t recognize. These are almost always a hoax, and the people found to be in charge of developing and releasing viruses can go to jail.

Another online crime that could bother several thousand people, even major organizations, is hacking. Cybercriminals use many ways to obtain passwords and various details in order to modify elements of a web page, send emails on behalf of other people and take their personal data.

Depending on the hacker’s intended goal, this could lead to significant and widespread complications. In addition to various other charges and penalties, this could warrant up to 3 years in prison; Anyone planning to hack into a government site or computer network can be looking at a full 10 years in jail. Replacing passwords frequently is a good strategy to deter would-be cybercriminals, but it happens from time to time regardless of how effective your attempts to protect your data are.