The fact that you are reading this article shows you are among the millions of global citizens who are connected on the internet. The digital revolution has brought with it many benefits but also changed the way people look at their personal security.
Not so many years ago the term ‘security’ solely referred to one’s physical security but the internet introduced a new dimension – online security. With shunning the internet not being an option at all, you have to find ways to secure yourself online amidst all the issues of security breaches and personal data theft.
Online Security Tips for Staying Safe At All Times
Cyber Crime is on the rise but with the influx of emerging technologies into the cyber security space, combating crime will become easy for online security experts.
Secure passwords
As a customer, you hope that when a company collects your personal data they will keep their end of the bargain and keep it safe. That also means not selling it to third parties for profit either through targeted ads or mass marketing.
Before it gets to that point though, your security starts with you. The passwords to your online accounts are the first security feature to protect yourself online. Do not compose simple passwords that can be easily guessed from your basic personal information.
Avoid passwords with your name and year of birth or simple numeric combination like 1234. Your passwords should be a combination of several characters to minimize the risk of someone guessing and logging into your accounts.
More importantly, have different passwords for your various accounts. Having the same passwords for all your accounts extends the threat to other accounts when one is hacked.
Have an updated antivirus software
Anti-virus software protect your machine from virus infections that can wipe out all your data and also prevents malicious software from getting installed into your machine especially when you are connected to the internet.
You could be online browsing a genuine site like gameguideworld.net but without an updated antivirus software, you are exposed to many online threats include spyware and malware want to install themselves into your machine undetected.
Look before you leap
Phishing scams are one of the most common tactics used by cybercriminals to collect important personal information from users. It usually comes in the form of an ostensibly genuine looking email from resembling that of reputable organization they are impersonating.
They link in the phishing email will direct you to an insecure login page where they will be able to collect your username and password.
The key to avoiding phishing scams is to verify the URL of any link in your mails before clicking on it. Most reputable organizations have also secured there sites and you will notice this in the form of a padlock in the address bar.
Two-step verification
You can improve your online security by activating the two-step verification login method for all your online accounts. This acts as a second layer of protection should someone hack into your account.
After logging in with your password, another code is sent to your phone for verification before you can finally have access to your account. Some people disable the two-step verification for the devices they regularly use but this may be dangerous should you lose the one or all of the devices.