Perhaps not. But it is a fact that if somebody wants to, he can tap every VoIP call you make. This would be an invasion on your privacy but not much harmful if you were making small talk with your friends or inquiring about the health of your uncle Frank.
On the other hand, if you were making a business call in which you exchanged sensitive information and if that phone was tapped, this could have serious consequences for you.
While snooping is also possible on the traditional landline phones, it is not that easy to carry out. The criminal needs to physically fiddle with your phone line cable to introduce a tapping device. This carries more risk of exposure than the tapping of a VoIP phone. A snooper can do the nefarious work anonymously sitting in front of his computer at home. And he can get at you three ways – through your internet service provider, VoIP service provider or your own pc if there is any security lapse at any of these points.
As data theft has been attracting much attention, ISPs and VoIP service providers have become very security conscious and take very sturdy measures to protect their servers. So it is difficult, if not impossible, to get at them but a home pc can very much become an easy target.
Does this mean making VoIP calls is not safe?
No, VoIP is not unsafe as such. However remember that VoIP works through internet and is prone to all the threats and attacks that are associated with internet – viruses, identity theft, phishing, spam, spyware. In other words your VoIP phone is as safe as your pc.
If your pc can be attacked so can be your VoIP system with the result that somebody could steal your password to make phone calls, send you spam telemarketer calls or disable your pc by dos attacks as well as listen to your phone calls.
Can All This Happen To You?
In theory anything is possible. And some, if not all, of these unpleasant things can happen to you if somebody targets you specifically. Otherwise there is very little likelihood that your VoIP phone would be tapped or somebody would be using your account to make long-distance calls.
This means that you need not worry too much when making a VoIP call. But it doesn’t mean that you should disregard security measures altogether.
Consider security like insurance. You don’t expect to be knocked down while crossing the street or have a head-on collision while driving. Even then most everybody thinks it a good idea of having some sort of life or accident insurance. It is the same with VoIP or pc security. Hopefully nobody would hack your VoIP system or pc. But what if somebody does?
What to do
As VoIP travels on the internet which reaches you normally through your pc, this is where the security should begin. So secure your pc and you should have secure VoIP. And for that you have to do a few things.
First of all set a security level of your browser which is the gateway to everything that enters your pc by way of internet. The levels on IE range from High to Low. Decide on the level you are comfortable with.
Next on the line of defense are firewall and antivirus. They catch any nasty that goes past the browser security. Get antivirus software which updates itself to meet the new threats that emerge. And remember to turn on your firewall and antivirus before you access the internet.
Passwords are the keys to your pc and online accounts. Make it a point to use passwords that are not easy to hack. And when you have created such strong passwords, take care to protect them.
If you are using VoIP phone to make sensitive business calls, use an adapter to connect your phone directly to the internet without going through your pc. This way your VoIP phone is insulated from the attacks that your pc may come under.
Do all this and your VoIP phone should be safe in most cases. But never let down your guard. Develop a security consciousness – be on the alert to learn about the threats that emerge and the ways to combat them. This is true of not only VoIP security but any security concern in our life.
Author: Nissar Jagani
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Duty on LCD/Plasma TV
Related Posts -
Make Your Business Sound Professional Whether you are a fortune five hundred company, boarding school, college, small business or home office, it is important to sound professional. With advances in telecommunication systems over the past few years VoIP phone systems are capable of providing high quality service at low affordable prices.No more per minute...... - Internet Telephone Calls - VoIP Basics You've seen the commercials and read the news advertisements for telephone service using your computer: very cheap monthly fees; make all the calls you want; keep your telephone number forever; and voice quality as good as a landline. You've heard the claims and you've heard the term "VoIP." Here's......
- VoIP Solution Providers - Easy Calling at Cheaper Rates World is moving to IP solutions to meet their telecommunication needs. Big players of the vast industry like business or corporate houses are availing benefits of internet telephony for acquiring more profits. Companies offering IP services are commonly referred to as voice over IP providers while, protocols used for......
- Getting The Nitty Gritty On VoIP Products, Internet Phones and VoIP Services Besides the price, perhaps one of the biggest advantages to VoIP is the wide variety of VoIP products that are available today.Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a fairly new type of telecommunication technology which allows you to make telephone calls over the Internet at a really cheap price.......
- VoIP Phone - A Means To Start A Small Business The need for making long distant calls at cheaper rates led to the introduction of VoIP. This secondary means of connecting people proved very fruitful. Using this technology, people were able to make calls at very reasonable rates, while simultaneously viewing the person at the other end on a web......
Related Websites -
Orlando Internet Advertising - Google Works! Today Orlando Internet Advertising can reach active consumers that use Internet Search Engines more than old fashioned Yellow Pages. Information is found quickly, locally and when consumers are reeady to buy. Orlando Internet Advertising - Google Local Pay Per Click /caption] Research has reported that 86% of Internet Search Engine users stop on page #1 after searching for information. This is...... - Middleman Beware: The Internet is Making You Obsolete I'm not an expert in business trends by any means, but it really seems like the disintermediation opportunities the Internet provides is beginning to replace, well... almost everything. Think about this for a moment. Where do you check the morning news? Where do you get your music? Manage your money?......
- Making Cash On The Internet Is All About Owning All The Right Internet Marketing Tools GVO (Global Virtual Opportunities) formerly Kiosk is a company owned by Joel Therien who has a 12 year track of experience in the network marketing and internet marketing industries. GVO has swiftly created a whopping buzz in the internet marketing and the MLM , Network marketing arenas due to the......
- Napa County Marinas Part 2 Steele Parke Marina 1605 Steele Canyon Road Napa, California 94558 Phone: 707.966.2123 View Larger Map Average water depth? This marina is on Lake Berryessa which fluctuates. Please call ahead to check current levels. Is there a marine stand by channel? No, but you can reach the marina by phone. What......
-
Making the Best of Service Problems with Negotiation We signed up for cable internet when moving to the house, and there have been some times when itâs just had a lot of different issues. Fortunately our neighbors leave their WiFi access point open, so we can just use their internet during this time, but it does get a......
Related posts:
