With the internet user population swelling, we regularly come across stories about how sensitive data about individuals as well as business houses being hacked. It is time you learnt about the various ways you can protect yourself against online threats.
Never trust unsolicited e-mails. Please remember that every time you connect to the Internet, a miscreant may be waiting to take play mischief. Avoid clicking on links or supply passwords if you are not expecting something from a trusted source.
It is of paramount importance that you create strong alphanumeric passwords. Never allow an opportunity to be hacked because you set an insecure password or PIN.
Do not overly expect your antivirus suite to protect you fro all types of online threats – as your antivirus protection is not a total security blanket. The sad part is today’s security technologies are unable keep pace with the proliferation of weird security threats.
You will have to exercise your discretion where to go on the Internet and which e-mails to open and which links to click on. Never let any suspicious persons to handle your computer.
For transactions that need to be secure such as banking transactions, use a separate exclusive computer – if you can afford one. If you do any online banking, stock trading or make other sensitive online transactions, try to use this separate computer. Do not use the same computer for browsing the web and general-purpose use.
Always access your accounts by typing the URL yourself, and when you do connect, make sure your transactions are encrypted.
Be guarded when you post on social media sites. Do not part with sensitive personal information. More than ever before, social media sites are encouraging us to share everything. Regularly review your social media privacy settings to ensure you are not sharing anything you would rather keep private.
Information posted on social media sites can be used against you in social engineering attacks. Do not unthinkingly accept friend requests from utter strangers.
Avoid according permission to programs to run that you have no intentions of downloading. Be guarded about which apps you run on your computer and your smartphone. Learn the application of advanced technologies that provide foolproof protection for Internet threats.