Computer Safety for Domestic Violence Victims
a 15-page booklet by Bruce Miller
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Many web sites and organizations devoted to domestic violence victims offer safety tips. Often, a portion of those safety tips include computer use.

Even though the warnings about computer use are appropriate, the advice falls short, and in some cases, is simply wrong. The single most failing among these web sites and organizations is leading you to believe that the only computer you need to be concerned about is the home computer. This booklet will help increase your technical knowledge for safer computer use at home and help expand your thinking beyond the home computer.

The best way to be safe with computers is to increase your knowledge of how they can give you away. Once you become more informed, you can better judge how, when, and where to use computers to help you be safe or improve your life.

The booklet is a combination of critical analysis, how to protect yourself, and tips and tricks in using computers.

FROM THE BOOKLET:

Example of Inaccurate, Incomplete Information

The following computer information from New Beginnings for Battered Women and Their Children was at http://www.newbegin.org/aboutsafety.html#computer on 1/13/2004 12:19AM. The information is a mixture of good advice, wrong information, and important omissions. After various statements you will find a reference number in brackets. Detailed comments for each reference number follow the New Beginnings text in the booklet:

Computer safety Your computer keeps a record of internet sites you visit. [1] If an abusive partner uses your computer, you may be increasing your danger by visiting sites about domestic violence, including this site! [2] The safest practice is to use a computer at a public library, at work, a community technology center (CTC - see the national directory at www.ctcnet.org), an Internet cafe, or at the home of a friend you trust. [3]

We strongly advise you not to use any computer that is also used by the person abusing you if you are searching for information about domestic violence. [4] It is not possible to delete or clear all computer "footprints". [5]

Monitoring: There are hundreds of ways that computers record everything you do on your hard drive as well as on the Internet. [6] If someone wants to monitor your computer use, they can, even without direct access (hacking). [7]

If you think your activities are being monitored, they probably are. [8] Abusive people are often controlling and want to know your every move. A person doesn't need to be a computer programmer or have special skills to monitor someone's activities - there are many ways to do it. [9]

E-mail: No e-mail message is confidential! [10]. There are many ways your e-mail can be accessed without your consent or knowledge, whether your computer is being monitored or not. [11] E-mail messages are sent using many servers located world-wide and their contents can be accessed by someone who really wants to do so. [12]

A much safer way is to use a Web-based e-mail service. Many Web sites offer free Web-based e-mail which allows you to access your e-mail from any computer that has Internet access, and no information is stored locally on your computer. [13] Some good Web-based e-mail services are Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and Excite Mail.

E-mail is not a safe or confidential way to talk to someone about the danger or abuse in your life. [14] Please call us instead (see below re: phone use).

Passwords: Try to choose login names and passwords an abuser cannot guess. A password using a combination of letters and numbers is harder to guess. [15]

Editing Documents

Be sure not to store important or private documents on a computer an abuser has access to (you can use these Internet services to store documents). [16] If you use a computer to create/edit confidential documents, don't save them on the hard drive. [17] If you use a floppy disk be sure to keep it in a safe place. [18]

Contents
(subject to modifications)
  • Example of Inaccurate, Incomplete Information
  • Safer Web Browsing
  • More Secure Email
  • Cell Phone Security and Computers
  • Warnings About Toll-free Numbers
  • Warnings About Caller ID
  • Beware Password Protection in Word Processing Programs
  • File Encryption
  • IP numbers
  • Removable Storage Devices
  • Beware of Autocomplete in Browsers
  • Avoid Word Processing Programs
  • Caution about Microsoft Word Documents
  • Naming Files
  • Cautions About Web Search Engines and Name Lookup Services
About Bruce Miller, the author:
  • Worked with computers since the mid 1980's. I've got a lot of experience.
  • Written about computer use since about the mid 1980's and have encountered a lot of people with a lot of information.
  • Tracked down my share of spammers.
  • Been a victim of domestic violence myself by my wife, whose last physical assault was kicking me in the head while I slept. Injury resulted from a previous assault.
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