By: Agnes A. Pascua
Nowadays, internet can be considered like a dangerous place because of high incidents of hacking, scams and malware as well as risks given by the production of devices such as smartphones and tablets to internet-connected appliances.
To reduce exposure to these threats, here are some tips to remember:
1. Create Strong Passwords.
Creating strong and unique passwords for all the important accounts is the best way to keep personal and financial information safe. In reusing passwords, hackers might easily take the leaked data and use it to login to one’s other accounts.
2. Increase Your Network Protection.
Make sure that all connections are protected. When at home or at work, there is a probability that a password-protected router that encrypts data is being used but when outside and on the road, one might be tempted to access to free and public Wi-Fi which is often unsecured that means the hacker can relatively easy to access your device information. With this, one can consider investing in a Virtual Private Network or VPN which is a piece of software that creates a secure connection over the internet to which one can safely connect from anywhere.
3. Use a Firewall.
Firewall is an electronic barrier that blocks unauthorized access to computers and devices. Using it ensures the security of all the devices connected to one’s network.
4. Think Before Clicking and Lookout for the Latest Scams.
Many of today’s online threats are based on social engineering like spam emails, online quizzes, free offers and more that are tricky and make you reveal personal or sensitive information for fraudulent purposes. Make sure that think before clicking and always look for the latest scams to avoid danger.
5. Be a Cautious Sharer.
There are lots of opportunities to share one’s personal information online so be cautious about what to share especially if it bears your identity information because this can potentially impersonate and / or guess one’s logins and password.
6. Practice Safe Surfing and Shopping.
Always make sure that when you shop online or visiting websites for online banking and other sensitive transaction the sites address starts with “https” and has a padlock icon in the URL field because it indicate that the website is secure.
By taking just a small handful of these security measures, one can greatly protect itself into the threats online.