The internet has revolutionized how we do things. Almost everything we do nowadays is processed online. This is actually one of the best inventions of the human civilization. Computers are now part of our day to day lives. I bet the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is check your email if there is any new development you need to be aware of. However, any advancement comes with a price and this one seems to be quite pricy. Given the chance, hackers leave little to chance and hey are constantly preying on unsuspecting victims. From time to time you need to take certain measures to protect yourself against any possible hacker. Here are some things you need to do to enhance your internet security.
1- Routinely Change Passwords and Make Them Strong
Hackers will always try to get hold of your passwords in order to get access to your various accounts including email and credit card management portal. One way people make mistakes is that they use simple, easy to predict components as their passwords. Such things as your birthday, the date you got married, your child’s date of birth or name and many other things that can be available in the public domain are a no go zone when creating passwords. A good password should contain numbers, letters and other special characters that make it hard for someone to easily predict. Using a strong password is not enough all together, ensure that you constantly change it to make it even more impossible for hackers to get their hands on your useful information.
2- Secure your Network
Internet security is now turning to be a thing we have to live with. One way of accessing the internet is through a local area network either at home or at work. These networks can either be wireless or wired. To ensure security of your data, use a firewall to protect the network such that before one can be able to use your network, he or she has to provide a password only known to the network administrator. This way you will be certain that no unauthorized personnel is using your network. There is a more ingenious technique that has been developed whereby if a user looks suspicious, he or she is automatically led to a bouncing server and no matter how they try, they cannot get access.
3- Use two step verification for important accounts
Computer hacking has advanced to a point where a simple algorithm can go a long way into sabotaging your sensitive information. Initially, when only one verification had to be provided to get access onto your credit card management account or your bank account, there used to be many victims. Thanks to internet security advancements, one has to provide several verifications to ascertain that he or she is the legitimate account holder. After providing the first password, one has to provide an answer to a security question only known to the user and predefined during the Signup process. To show the seriousness of this matter, some accounts will trigger an automated code sent to your cell phone and to gain full access to your account, you have to provide the code. This is very effective in that you are the only person who has access to the phone not unless you lose it.
4- Always use internet security software
Anti-spyware softwares have been developed to ward off any suspicious persons who may be trying to illegally get into your account. Such softwares have several firewall levels to make it hard for anyone who may be trying to bypass it. Any time the software detects that there may be some suspicious activity, it automatically initiates lock down protocol to protect your accounts.
5- Keep your OS and Security softwares up to date
From time to time, developers of various operating systems and softwares develop updates to the already existing softwares to keep up to date with emerging security threats. One thing you should be aware of is that hackers are not sleeping, they are constantly working to override the already existing security measures you have in place and one of the surest ways to ensure that they do not beat you to your own game is to keep your operating system and security software up to date.
6- Check your credit report once a week
We cannot be able to emphasize this enough. One of the main reasons why there are hackers out there is because they want to steal your money and you should not make it easy for them. Chances are that if they get their hands on your bank account, they will go ahead and try to withdraw money from the account. If you do not check regularly, they will be withdrawing until the account runs dry. So what should you do? Constantly be checking your account. Once a week is appropriate, but if you can afford to check multiple times a week, go ahead. If you suspect that there is suspicious withdrawals, immediately notify your bank or credit card company.
7- Keep personal information private
Social media is taking over our social life by storm. As much as it helps us keep up with emerging trends, to some extend it compromises our privacy. I cringe my teeth I see people exposing very vital information about their life which should otherwise have been private and confidential. You never know when a hacker will attack. Just simple personal information like your date of birth or your mothers name can be very useful to a hacker.
8- Open or Download Email attachments or files with caution
Hackers have noticed that people have put in place strict security measures in place and so have they up their game. Once they notice that you are a hard nut to crack, they will try and get your email address and send you a spy software. Immediately you open an email they send you, the spyware starts sending information it collects from your computer like Login information like username and password and other useful data then send it back to the hacker. The hacker will then try to log in as if he or she was you. By the time you notice, they will have gotten what they wanted and left. Any email you think looks suspicious, mark it as spam immediately and do not try to download any attachments.
Just like your personal security, your internet security is also very important and you should be careful how you handle it, lest you regret, after all prevention is better than cure.
