Making
transactions online can be very risky sometimes and one can fall a
victim of fraud. These are ways you can play safe online.
file photo
It’s almost unavoidable to buy
products online or give personal information to trusted websites.
Unfortunately, that information isn’t always safe and criminals can
easily access sensitive knowledge about you.
To help, there is a guide for regular
people who don’t have time to develop a deeper understanding about
wireless networks, yet need to protect their data over wireless
channels.
1. Be safe on social media
Social media may seem like a safe place to share some of the more
intimate details of your life, but you should be vigilant about what you
post on these networks. Even seemingly innocuous information, like your
birthday or address, can be used by criminals for more dangerous
applications.
To avoid this, personalise the security settings in your social
network accounts. If you share a post with Personally Identifiable
Information, make sure to only select trusted individuals who can see
it. Additionally, be wary of anyone you don’t know in real life making
appeals to you for such PII.
2. Protect your credit cards
When making purchases online, always be sure that the website you
enter your credit card information into is secure. The URL should begin
with “HTTPS,” not simply “HTTP.” Don’t make purchases on an unsecured
network, and remember to logout of your customer account when using
public devices.
To be extra careful, load a prepaid credit card with limited funds
for online purchases. This reduces the risk in case someone steals your
information.
3. Use the cloud for back-ups
Backing your important files up is essential in case your devices
are ever stolen. Over the years, cloud computing has become more secure,
as large technology firms like Amazon and Microsoft take control of the
market. Even hospitals and health care centres in advanced countries
have started using clouds for data storage, easy access of files and to
secure confidential documents.
A common example is Gmail and Google Drive, where you can upload
the files and access them from anywhere in the world. The only
requirement is a working Internet connection; that isn’t hard to find
these days. Moreover, we can secure files with user-based or group-based
permission. This is the future of backing up digital files on the
clouds.
4. Factory reset and drive wiping
More often than not, simply “deleting” something from your computer
or mobile device will not permanently remove the information from the
machine. Before you sell or throw away your old machine, make sure that
the drives are fully wiped and that the machine is given a factory
reset.
Without this extra step, whoever gets your device next will have
access to even the most secured information on your machine, including
files you previously thought were deleted.
5. Disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use
Whenever you’re not using the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi capabilities of
your computer or mobile device, be sure to turn them off. If you don’t
take this precaution, other devices in the vicinity may be able to gain
access to yours, including access to open file sharing networks. For
this reason, your network sharing settings should always be set to only
share files with other trusted devices you own.
6. Password protection
Many sites these days require you to have a complex password before
signing up, and while this may appear to be an inconvenience at first,
it’s really in your best interest. Passwords should be impossible to
guess by family and friends, which mean you shouldn’t use birthdays,
anniversary dates, family member names, or other obvious identifying
information.
Ideally, everyone will use a random password generator, and have
those random passwords saved on a secure and encrypted file on their
computer. Since that may be a bit extreme for most Internet users, just
be sure to use different passwords for all important accounts (bank,
email, etc.). Additionally, don’t use accurate information for password
recovery questions like your mother’s maiden name, as these details are
easy to get for the right cybercriminal.
7. Two-step authentication
Large, trustworthy companies like Google, Facebook, PayPal and more
all offer two-step authentication, which forces users to enter a code
sent to their mobile device in order to sign in. Other companies will
ask for your mobile phone number or an alternative email address, so if
someone attempts to log into your account from an unknown device, a
message is sent to you requiring additional verification.
Both of these methods offer extra security for your sensitive
information, whether it is financial or personal. If your social media
or e-commerce site asks for additional identifying information like this
so they can verify your account against strange login attempts, always
opt in. You will get warnings of suspicious activity and the ability to
change your information if it ever becomes compromised.
It’s never too late or too early to start protecting yourself online.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
DROP YOUR COMMENT