The increasing use of the World Wide Web is really doing a fruitful of things by being at one’s own place and on the other hand, it also creates security issues. When hackers attempt to steal our data or any other private information such as the bank accounts as an online user we need to follow certain cybersecurity measures to escape such threats. Sometimes people wonder that these measures are meant for technocrats and not for a common man. But it is not so and every online user has to be careful in implementing a few simple yet effective precautions to enjoy the hassle-free internet. Let us discuss those useful practices that each one of us should try in our daily lives.
Be Reserve on Social Media
Cybercriminals look for possible online sources to track one’s financial status. If we try to expose details such as our wealth, savings, jewelry, income, then we might fall a trap to these attempts. We need not be a celebrity or a film actor/actress to be tracked by the public. The hackers even track a common man who is financially potential, so they can grab a good amount of money with this information. This often happens with social media like Facebook and we should know its privacy settings. Therefore, it is a good practice we should keep a low profile on our social media pages and we should try to minimize the level of exposure of our details. Probably we can share our details only with well-known persons and not to the entire public.
Never Use a Public Wi-Fi for Online Shopping
We might be a frequent e-commerce user to buy or sell the things of our interest. Such people often save their passwords or account details for easier and quicker day-to-day access to those websites. But they might not know that this is one of the most important reasons for losing their cybersecurity. Also, they use public Wi-Fi networks for such trading purposes, where the possibility of hacking is higher because of fewer security measures in place. So never ever trust a public Wi-Fi network and do not open your bank accounts or other financial sessions over those networks.
Enable Security Authentication (2FA)
Two-Factor Authentication is the process of performing authentication in two levels. The first level is the usual username-password authentication and the second level is the code authentication. It means that the service provider sends a code to our registered mobile number or to an Authentication App. We need to provide the code before we log into the service. Though it looks redundant, it is helpful when we lose our passwords. Unless the hacker gets hold of our mobile device, illegal logins would never be permitted in 2FA.
Cloud Storage Security
The emerging trends in data handling and storage have resulted in the usage of Cloud Storage and people believe the clouds have stronger internet security. The easiness in storing data, ready-to-access data from anywhere in the globe, no need for large storage spaces in our own devices, synchronized access to data by a group of people working together, etc are some of the advantages of using cloud storage. Despite these advantages, there are a few drawbacks that arise mainly due to the third party services opted by the cloud data management systems. As Cloud stores data around the globe, they need third parties to work on their behalf in other countries. Only a few established Cloud-based companies have their own data management in place at all the geographic locations. Others go for third parties to reduce the setup cost and we cannot always trust a third-party service for its cybersecurity measures.
Never click on the Ad pop-ups
Not all pop-up ads can supply us useful advertisements and every pop-up ad is a kind of digital marketing aimed at improving their sales. Most of the pop-up ads drag us for continued reading and we may land in websites full of viruses and other Trojans. So beware of those unpredicted web pages you might land and better avoid clicking on the pop-up ads.
Keep your Wi-Fi Turns off when not in use
Nowadays people are used to be connected to a Wi-Fi network either being at home or at the office. Even when they leave those places, they never take a step to turn it off. They think they are moving out of the Wi-Fi spot and hence there would be no internet connection until they get back to the spot. It is partially true and partially false as there is no necessity that there is no Wi-Fi networks in the other place you visit. Certain cybercriminals voluntarily set up such networks and would try to make us fall in the trap. Just because we did not turn off the Wi-Fi, our device automatically connects to the network and unfortunately, we need to lose our sensitive information. So, it is a good practice we should turn off the Wi-Fi once we are done with that.
HTTPS is the Only Option
HTTPS provides secure access to the web pages by encrypting our data whereas it is not implemented in HTTP. E-commerce services and other financial transactions should only be carried out with a URL that starts with https. A plain HTTP cannot offer us protection against hacking and it is one of the important cybersecurity measures. A VPN can also provide us safe financial transactions with proper encryptions.
Avoid Social Engineering Attacks
Hackers are human beings and not fraudulent in all their activities. Just because they know how to capture other’s information, they do it, but it is no way acceptable. These social engineers get introduced to others as online friends and they pretend to be good. Sometimes they seem to be good even after stealing our data as they do their criminal activities not letting anyone know. To be on a safer side it is better we do not disclose your sensitive information to fellow online friends. Some of the common types of social engineering attacks are Baiting, Phishing, Spear phishing, Scareware, Pretexting, etc. These attacks can be avoided by considering every piece of information as a secured one and not letting any data going out before thinking twice.
Trash all the Old or Unused Accounts
Being a frequent online user, we may create lots of accounts on the World Wide Web. For example, in today’s scenario, we need an access card to enter a website and to enjoy its services. This access card is the username and password combination. As an attempt to use certain services, we might have created accounts and later forgotten to use it or we might not have needed it anymore. Those details can be a source of information for cybercriminals as a majority of people use birth dates, names, etc as their common passwords. These hackers can try out combinations of that available information to gain access to our sensitive data. So, it is a good practice we regularly delete all the unnecessary accounts in time.
Keep you Webcam Covered
We may wonder whether our webcams can be a source for stealing our data. To our surprise, it is possible to activate our own webcams without our knowledge. Hackers activate webcams illegally and capture one’s video and can even post it on YouTube. This is very much dangerous and therefore before being a trap to such attacks, we can paste a tape over the webcam. This could save us from such serious online threats and can guard us against various issues. In fact, most tech-savvy individuals make this a practice to escape from such threats.
Conclusion
Internet security is really an arena that needs to be focussed much in today’s digital world. Just like safeguarding our physical money with certain measures, it is important to safeguard our digital content. They belong to us and when someone uses it, we have all the right to question them. But measures taken after being attacked is a mere waste and we should act on time. So cross-check whether you have used all the above-mentioned security practices and if something is missing, it is better to act on it. Whatever encryption or protocol we use, only routine security measures, and strict adherence to those rules can provide us a hard shield online data protection. People try to create awareness by declaring the month of October as Cyber Security Month and such things can really speed up the momentum at which they act.
