*Online Privacy Tips*

Privacy is not a new concept; it existed long before the current digital age. In today's digital age, information gathering is fast, easy, and less expensive than in the past. Huge technological advancements in computing technology make it easy to collect vast volumes of data and store
it for later analysis. With buzz words such as hacking and cybersecurity appearing in the press regularly and being common topics of conversation among everyday technology users, information security and privacy are at, or at least
should be, at the forefront of people's minds.

To better understand how you can maintain your online privacy, we'll first introduce the types of
computer security threats that you face online.

*Types of Computer Security Risks*

*Pharming*

Pharming is a cyber-attack intended to redirect users from a legitimate web site to a fraudulent site without
their knowledge. Pharming can be conducted either by changing the hosts file on a victim’s computer or by poisoning the *Domain Name System (DNS)* server records with false information to lead users to unwanted destinations. DNS servers are computers responsible for resolving Internet names into their real Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
If the Windows hosts file gets infected with malware, it can change its contents and insert redirects, so when the user types the legitimate URL, the browser may then redirect to a malicious web site that has the
same look and feel. When the user enters his or her username and password, the malicious web site will receive them instead of the original one, thus resulting in a compromised user account and credentials.

To mitigate such attacks, you can prevent hosts file modifications by following these steps:

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