With the advent of the internet, your data can be compromised in many ways. The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to protect yourself—and even better if you use some common sense and some technical safeguards. This article has compiled a list of tips and resources to help you keep your data safe online.
Recognise phishing and pharming.
Phishing and pharming are methods used to trick people into providing personal information. Every individual needs to protect their data by having mobile ad fraud prevention software. Phishing is a type of scam that obtains sensitive information such as email addresses, passwords, and credit card numbers. A phishing email might impersonate a legitimate company or organisation (such as your bank or credit card company) and ask you to provide personal data by clicking on a link or opening an attachment.
Pharming is similar in that it involves using a website that appears authentic but is fraudulent. When you enter your login credentials on this fake site, they are sent directly to an attacker who can use them for malicious purposes. To protect yourself from these types of attacks:
- Know where you’re giving out info online: Websites that ask for sensitive information like passwords should have an HTTPS:// prefix in their URL bar and a lock icon next to their address bar (the padlock icon on your browser). This indicates that secure connections are being used, so all transmitted data will remain private if intercepted by someone else (although no system can guarantee 100% security).
- Pay close attention when logging into accounts: Make sure every detail matches precisely with what’s expected! The bank may have different requirements than financial institutions when it comes down to punctuation or capitalisation, so pay attention carefully before submitting any information online.
Know your sources.
- Know the source of your data: If the information you’re receiving isn’t from a trusted source, take it with a grain of salt—don’t trust it blindly.
- Don’t trust links or emails from people you don’t know: Even if they claim to be someone in your address book, there’s no way for you to verify that they are who they say they are. Be wary of links sent by email or SMS; hackers can fake these messages and send them to you to gain access to sensitive information on your computer or smartphone.
- Make sure sites are secure.
If you’re using Chrome, look for a lock icon in your browser’s address bar to tell that the website is secure. If there’s no lock icon, it could mean that your data isn’t encrypted when sent over this particular connection (or not yet).
The first thing to do is check whether or not websites are secure by looking at their certificates—the small text file called certs/cacerts on macOS and Linux computers—and stored on Windows computers under “C:\Users\UserName\AppData\LocalLow\Sun Microsystems”.
Protect your computer and mobile devices.
- Install antivirus software and keep it up to date.
- Install a firewall and use it.
- Install adware, malware blockers, and virtual private network (VPN) software.
- Use a password manager (like LastPass or 1Password).
Use strong passwords.
Chances are you have more passwords than you can remember—a complex password manager can help with that. And while it’s essential to use an extended and hard-to-crack code, it’s also important not to reuse your passwords across various websites or apps. Don’t use personally identifiable information as part of your password either; that includes birth dates and kids’ names, among other things. If you want an easy way out, choose a phrase rather than a word: “Ducktales2017” is easier to remember than “q1w2e3r4t5y6u7i8o9p0!@#$%^&*()_+=-=[]{}|\:”; but if someone gets hold of your computer (or phone), they’re still going to be able to crack the latter in seconds flat.
Keep your personal information to yourself.
The first step in protecting your data is to keep your personal information to yourself. Don’t give out personal information, even if someone asks for it politely. The most critical information to keep secret is your password and credit card number. If you have a long, complex password unique to each website you visit, you’re less likely to be a victim of identity theft (stealing someone else’s identity). Such thefts usually come in the form of ads and multiple links associated with them, making mobile ad fraud prevention a must at all times. If someone does manage to get your password somehow, they won’t be able to access any of your accounts because they need to know which one contains the correct login details.
Refrain from trusting random links
When it comes to protecting your data on the web, you should do a few things. If a link looks suspicious, it probably is. Don’t click on links in emails or open attachments in emails. Also, don’t click on random links that may appear when browsing the web and be wary about sites that look suspicious; if the website looks shady or unprofessional, don’t trust that any information you provide will be secure from hackers.
As it is seen, there are many ways to protect yourself online. If you need clarification on your next steps, consider talking to an expert about your situation. Some professionals can help you protect your data from identity thieves and cybercriminals so you can focus on living a happy life.