Playing Safe is Playing Smart

As with anything involving monies and personal details on the Internet, it pays to be prepared.

Identity fraud and theft is a huge problem on the Internet, and while this should not deter you from enjoying Poker online, there are a few steps you should take to ensure you are as safe as possible when you do play. Many thefts are the cause of being complacent online.

Read the following carefully. It is recommended you implement these to the best of your ability, or seek help from professionals to do so to keep you safe.

Ensure the Venue uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

This is extremely important. If you are betting in an online poker game, you do not want your details stolen by malevolent internet users. Ensure the venue uses secure sockets (SSL). You can tell a venue uses secure sockets by the Lock icon in the status bar of your browser, or by the "https://" prefix in the address bar of the browser.

You can learn more about SSL here.

Always Check the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy

It is a must, for everything you do or sign up for online that you do read the privacy policy or terms of use. For sites that take your money for services, or sites you will be trading on or using your money in, always check if first they do have these two items, and second if they talk about your rights. Ensure the venue will not divulge your information without your permission for any reason, and if there are questions you have with any venue's terms and privacy polciy, take the time to contact them and get those questions answered. It is completely worth it.

Use A Set Account with Limits

If you are going to be betting online with your money, ensure you use a set amount of money to bet with. This may be somewhat contrary to the spirit of Poker, but the reaons are two fold.

First, if a malevolent user does manage to get access to your account, there is not a limitless amount of money they can steal.

Secondly, this guarantees you will gamble responsibly up to a certain amount that you are willing to bet. This way you probably won't regret it if you wake up the next day from a long nite out partying, and still have money in the bank.

The converse can really hurt. Don't ever play poker with money you cannot afford to lose.

Ensure you have Updated Antivirus Protection

Thousands of nasty virii exist to steal the details from you computer. It's best to zap these nasties with inexpensive Antivirus protection that is up to date. One of the fundamental PC skills is to have an Antivirus program running, even if you are just playing Online Poker or sending an email.

Many programs exist for virus detection and removal, however, I recommend using Norton Antivirus for ease of use and low cost.

Ensure you have Updated Spyware Protection

Along with virii exist malicious software called "spyware". Spyware can be any program or code that specifically seeks out information about you, for instance your usage statistics, who you talk to online, as well as you personal address details and the like. Some anti-virus packages also include anti-spyware measures, for convienience, I suggest using PC Tools Spyware Doctor, which features an easy to use 1-click interface.

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