Privacy Special Report: Stealth Surfing

How to Make Your AOL Account Private

Hackers love to target America Online. These gate-crashers can seriously compromise your account. Here are areas to patrol:

E-mail controls: Your AOL address doesn't take long to reach mass e-mailers. To control the e-mail you receive, log on with the master screen name, click the Mail Center icon, and select Mail Controls. Pick a screen name, and examine your control options: You can block all e-mail, block mail that originates outside AOL, or reject mail from specific domains or members you list; or you can filter out all e-mail addresses except those you list.

Downloads: If you try to download any program from e-mail, AOL's Download Sentry warns you that executable downloads could contain viruses or Trojan horses--but it won't stop you from downloading them. So be wary what you download from strangers--and even from friends.

E-mail links and attachments: Most people don't think twice about clicking an HTML link in an e-mail. Malicious JavaScripts can lurk on any Web page, and many of the sociopaths who code them delight in targeting AOL users. If e-mail from a stranger contains attachments or links, forward the e-mail to TOSSPAM, AOL's spam-alert address.

Instant messages: AOL Instant Messenger allows Internet users and AOL's 20 million members to communicate instantly. Control the flow of Instant Messages. Select keyword Buddy, and click Privacy Preferences. You'll be presented with the same control options you have with e-mail in Mail Controls. You can exclude any combination of Internet and AOL users from sending IMs. Finally, click the Buddy List And Instant Message radio button to have your criteria accepted.

Chat rooms: AOL hackers have a script program that culls screen names from People Connection chat rooms and either adds them automatically to spam lists or sends unsophisticated Instant Messages asking for "password verification." So create a dedicated screen name for chat sessions, and set up stringent mail and IM controls for that account.