It’s important to log off when using public computers

I was recently in a bank that offered free Internet access and was astounded by what I saw when I walked up to one of the Internet-enabled computers. The person who had been there before me had been checking her e-mail and just walked away when she was done. She never logged off. She never even closed the Internet browser. Lucky for her I’m not a malicious person because what I could have done was read any of her personal e-mail or worse yet, sent out new e-mail in her name. I could have also gone to some of the major online retailers and requested that her password be e-mailed to her. Odds are I would have got one or two of them.

The point I am trying to make is not how to steal someone’s personal information but rather how important it is to clean up after yourself when using public computers. If you are checking your e-mail on a public computer, it is imperative that you, at a minimum close the web browser when you are done. Even better, make sure you click the log off (sometimes called sign off or sign out) link or button, wait for the confirmation that you are logged off and then close the browser.

The reason I say to log off is that some web sites remember your sign in information in an attempt to make it easier for you to come back to their site at a later date. A good web site will only remember your user name, not your user name and password. If they do remember both, it should only be for non-secure information and it should immediately ask you to re-authenticate yourself the moment you request secure information. But because you can not rely on what each individual web site does, your best bet is to always log off and then close the Internet browser.

Let me end by taking a quick side trip on the topic of logging off. A couple of weeks ago I did some consulting for a company and the owner told me he didn’t think the log off feature worked on one of the web sites he used because after he logged off, it still appeared that he was on the web site. I explained to him that most web sites will return you to a login page after you log off in case you logged off by accident or change your mind about logging off. The important thing to remember is that, even though you still appear as if you are on the web site after logging off, the web site now sees you as an anonymous visitor instead of a registered user.