The Internet is probably the greatest “miracle” in technology we’ve ever seen. It has opened up endless possibilities for what the future holds. Everything may be going swimmingly on the surface, but you may be exposing yourself to hackers or other threats if you don’t practice basic Internet safety. Let’s take a look:
- Passwords – The first step in Internet safety is to use strong passwords on all your accounts. Passwords should contain a good mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. Though it may be easy to remember one password across all your accounts, this is actually dangerous, as potential hackers can access your various accounts if they get that one password. It’s best to use a password manager to hold all your passwords in one secure location.
- Use a secure connection – The next step is to verify the security of your wifi connection. When you connect to wifi, most times you will have to enter a password, in which case the connection is secure. When you visit a coffee shop with free wifi, for example, this connection is not secure. Anyone connected to the network has the ability to access the information of other users on the network. For this reason, do not, we repeat, DO NOT do your personal banking when connected to a free wifi network.
- Update software regularly – A great way to protect your information from hackers is to install and regularly update software programs such as antivirus and anti-malware, as well as update your operating system whenever patches are released. Each time you update, the computer gains a new level of security against hackers, so they will have to change their tactics to surpass the security.
Don’t expose yourself to hackers. Use these security techniques whenever you’re online to protect yourself as well as your personal or confidential information.
Categorised in: antimalware, antivirus, computer, hacking, malware, Network Issues, Security