Online Safety for ALARA Members
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Hello [simplenews-subscriber:user:field-given-name-s-]
The potential for online threats affecting ALARA members is of great concern to the ALARA Board. We provide you the following information to help you enjoy your online engagement with ALARA.
- Websites
ALARA’s main website – www.alarassociation.org is a secured site, which is why you may have noticed the padlock and “https” in the address.
These two elements confirm the security of the site. You will notice the same convention in the relaunched 2010 World Congress site - https://wc2010.alarassociation.org/ and the revised Journal website - https://alarj.alarassociation.org/.
ALARA’s old site is not secure and we are planning to close it.
- Passwords
You need a password to access the Members’ pages on the main website or access the Journal site. These passwords should be at least 6 characters long (the longer the better, and I suggest at least 8 characters), and must contain upper and lower case letters, a number and a punctuation symbol. A strong password is your insurance to preventing someone accessing your data.
- Data Retained
ALARA asks for only basic personal information from members – no identity papers and no critical information, such as date of birth or health card / social security numbers. ALARA therefore does not hold much information that someone could use to build a profile of you.
- Request for Data by ALARA
ALARA never asks you to supply personal information in an email. If ALARA asks you to complete a form, that form is directly on the ALARA site (such as the membership form) or via a Word or pdf form that you download from the ALARA site. As mentioned, ALARA will not ask for highly personal information from you, except on the paper version of the membership application form, in which the applicant would enter credit card details.
- Payments
Payments for ALARA purchases from the web site proceed via PayPal, unless you choose to ask for an invoice and then make a direct deposit to the bank account provided on that invoice. The PayPal site allows you to pay via credit card or PayPal account, with the PayPal site opening once you purchase a membership or item. ALARA does not receive information about your card details (we do receive confirmation of your payment). The security of the PayPal site is your protection of those credit card or account details.
The only time we have asked for a member's bank details has been in relation to a refund, and the member involved knew why.
- Unsolicited Contacts from “ALARA”
ALARA does send emails to members and other people. All initial emails will come from one of the three main addresses – admin@, secretary@ and president@, with the alarassociation.org postfix. None of these emails will ask for personal information, and are likely to link to the ALARA site (or another site if discussing something from or about another network or organisation). If you place your mouse over the link without clicking, you will usually see the address of the link next to the link or at the edge of the window.
Members using the members section of ALARA’s website can generate emails to other members, but the site does not provide the sender with the recipient’s email address.
Emails purporting to be on behalf of ALARA that do not come from the above sources are likely to be unauthentic, and you should treat them with great caution.
Protecting Yourself
Please ensure you have a current licence for a reputable virus and internet security program, and that you are receiving automatic updates. These programs are essential in using the internet these days.
If you receive an unsolicited email or open an ALARA site, either of which appear to be unauthentic, please contact ALARA (admin@alarassociation.org). If the email or site is genuine, you will be helping us refine our communications to members. If it is a scam or rogue email or site, you will be helping us remove it or warn other members.
Colin Bradley
President