Keeping your username and password secure

Posted by Filipe Lima, orkut Operations Team

These days many users' accounts can be compromised through social engineering techniques such as phishing schemes or malicious scripts and programs guised as being legitimate, and lose their usernames and passwords. Here is a simple guide to keep your account secure:

• The orkut team will never ask for your username and password, if you receive an email asking for those details don't give them to anyone; it wasn't sent by us.
• Be aware of every link that you open: you might be redirected to a page where you'll be asked to install a really cool feature which is in fact a malicious program that will give out your private information
• If you're logged into orkut, and after clicking on a link, you're prompted to login again, check the URL; if it's not www.orkut.com, don't login! Some links redirect you to phishing pages, where the page is absolutely identical to the real orkut one, but your account information will be sent to the attacker.
• Always logout from orkut when you want to finish your session, and if you are on a public computer, clear you cache and cookies before leaving-this is really important!
• Change you password several times a year, and when you do, use a password that's easy to remember but difficult to guess.
• Don't write your password anywhere!
• Don't share your account with your soulmate. In the unfortunate event that your relationship ends this can cause you a lot of problems.
  

These safety tips are not unique to orkut. You should follow the same advice for email sites, or any other site that requires a username and password.

I hope this friendly reminder will help you maintain your beloved profile in peace :)