The Computer Corner
By Charles Miller

Several months ago, loyal Atención reader David emailed me a long and detailed message describing his internet café experiences here in San Miguel.

Since receiving his email, I have made several attempts to write the column he suggested, warning other Atención readers of the dangers poised by spyware, keystroke loggers and other malicious software.

The problem I confront every time I start to write on this subject is that I must walk a fine line. I do not want to make it sound as if I am blaming the owners of internet cafes for problems they did not create, and neither do I want to instigate hysteria or panic amongst their clientele.

Facts are facts, though, and the fact is that the internet can be a real dangerous place for anyone who has something to lose. What I mean by that is that if you have money in a bank account and you do not want to lose it, you should be extremely cautious about doing banking business on the internet. If you value your privacy and do not want to lose it, you should be careful about sending or receiving highly personal email on any computer used by other members of the public.

My friend David correctly noted, “Hundreds of tourists and residents alike blithely sit in sheer ignorance and innocence at their favorite internet cafe and keystroke in all of their most protected information.” Most are unaware that stealth software could be recording every screen of email and letters and bank account information, then sending that personal information to identity thieves online.

David is no fool and before checking his bank account and email accounts at a local internet café, he took time, at his expense, to download some of the best free spyware and malware detectors. His reaction was “Holy Smokes!”

What he found was all manner of suspicious stuff that might have been retaining all his personal data.

David’s question to me was what to do about this situation and I have agonized over the following answer because I know he is not going to like it.

The owners and operators of internet cafes here in San Miguel and around the world face some real challenges. Their computers are constantly under assault by online thieves and predators who try to steal passwords, bank and credit card numbers, etc. It is all but impossible to stay ahead of the bad guys, as new threats appear almost daily. Some internet café owners do a better job than others, but keeping their cafés absolutely clean of keyloggers and spyware is impossible.

It therefore becomes the responsibility of the consumer to become a smarter user. Like David, everyone should be aware that threats do exist.

Be aware that if you do online banking, online stock trading, or use email; a public computer at an internet café is just not the safest place in the world to do this. As things stand now, there is really no way to make a public computer a safe place. About the only thing for the consumer to do is to practice some common sense.

Unless it is a matter of life and death, do not send personal information (bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc.) using public computers.

Change your passwords frequently. Yes, it is a huge inconvenience, but if I were doing online banking from an internet café, I would change my password every day. At least then the identity thieves who stole my account number and password yesterday will not have the new password for today.

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-101-8528 or email FAQ@SMAguru.com.