Hacking has become very common that never a day passes without us hearing of a massive data, phishing or a ransomware attack. In an unsafe cyber-world, how then do we ensure that we survive these attacks?
In this post, i have compiled some essential tips that online users would use to ensure that their online banking credentials, social media accounts, emails and other online sensitive accounts stay safe from the hands of hackers and cyber-criminals.
1. Avoid using the same password for several accounts:
It is recommended all your social media, mail, banking account etc should all have different password. You can write them all somewhere for reference and also use password managers to save you the stress of inputting them every time.
2. Use a VPN:
Yes, a VPN service is a necessity for every internet user! A VPN (Virtual Private Network) protects you from hackers, Cyber Criminals, Government agencies, Spies and other groups of online snoopers by creating a secure connection using a tunnel that encrypts your activities. There are both free and paid VPN services available. You can click here to make your pick.
3. Avoid opening unknown links directly:
Avoid opening or clicking on unknown links in your browser. Be it in your mail box, Facebook etc. Whenever you want to open such links, copy the link and then open it in an "Incognito mode". Sophisticated phishing links these days automatically harvest your saved login credentials when clicked upon, but incognito mode doesn't recognize any saved login and thus makes it difficult for hackers.
4. Always type the website address yourself:
Avoid the habit of Googling everything including the website that you wan to visit. There are so many websites that are a clone of the real one. More still, these fake website have names similar to that of the original.
Remember the fake Bittrex site (www.Blttrex.com) which was the clone of the original crypto users several thousands of US Dollars.
5. Never link your accounts together:
Linking most of your online accounts together might help save you stress but have you thought about it if something goes wrong? You might be very good in securing you PC and password from hackers but what if one of those online service get breach! At that moment all your online accounts would be easily compromised.
Remember when Vevo was hacked and over 3.12TB of data were leaked online? well Vevo suffered the breach because some hackers hijacked an Okta account of a Vevo employee that was linked to Vevo itself.
6. Never use your personal email for other purposes:
Always ensure to have another email address to use for other things. Never use your personal email address so as to avoid receiving spam emails that might be part of a sophisticated phishing scheme to trick you.
7. Avoid showing private information to the public:
One way that hackers get their victim is by stealing private information of the victim so as to use it to access their accounts online. Never reveal your personal email address or phone number on social media network for the public. Change your privacy settings and keep anything sensitive hidden on your time line.
8. Use Two-Step verification:
Most social media platforms now offers Two-Step verification which is quite difficult to bypass. online users are mostly advised to set up a Two-Step verification to strengthen their online accounts security.
9. Never use a public Wifi without a VPN:
Back to the usage of a VPN. Public WiFi's are a haven for cyber-criminals and hackers. Never connect onto a public WiFi without using a VPN to shield and protect your activities from those that would be prying on the network, waiting to steal all your login credentials and other sensitive data for nefarious purposes.
10. Logout:
Logging in and out of your social media and other online accounts might sound stressful but it is the only way to go about it to keep your accounts safe. Anyone can access your accounts behind your back if its logged in!
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