Always Connected. Stay Protected Always.
The internet is most certainly a part of our lives these days. From banking, work, to social interaction and shopping – the internet entertains, educates, and connects us. Unfortunately, the internet is also home to certain risks, such as scams, hacks, identity theft and many more dangers that are very real and all too common. Here are some tips to stay safe online.
How to protect yourself online.
With a few simple steps, you can protect your privacy, keep your identity secure, and reduce the amount of date companies collect about you online.
Password Safety.
- Use passphrases and unique password for each of your accounts.Password managers can help you create strong individual passwords and keep them secure.
- Utilize passwords and other security options like fingerprint readers and face scanning technology.
- Change your password every 60 to 90 days.
- Do not store your password online.
- Never share your passwords.
Check your privacy settings.
- Consider turning off automatic geolocation on your social media posts, photos and comments.
- Think carefully about what information should be public, hidden or somewhere in between.
Share less online.
- Never post when you will be gone from your home on vacation or if you are home alone.
- Make use of privacy settings to limit the visibility of personal posts to your personal networks.
- Don’t just accept friend requests from people you have never met and do not know.
- Restrict the amount of personal identification information you share such as your birthday, address, phone number, social security number and family member names.
Don’t get click happy.
- Use extreme caution with attachments –they can be disguised malware that will infect your device.
- Don’t click links within an e-mail that you are at all suspicious of. What looks like a legitimate hyperlink can be a disguised link to a criminal website.
- If you hover your mouse over the text of the hyperlink, you should see the full URL, which will help to show whether it leads to a legitimate website.
- Don’t respond to texts from people you don’t know.
Browse online safely.
- Leveraging a secure VPN can encode your browsing information and make it unreadable to hackers.
- When shopping online, check out the website before entering your credit card number or other personal information.
- Look for “https” in the address bar or an unbroken padlock icon at the bottom of the browser window.
- These are signs that your information will be encrypted or scrambled, protecting it from hackers as it moves across the internet.
- Be careful when browsing in public. Hackers use a scam called shoulder surfing to watch you enter your private information when you’re using your devices.
Threats to Online Safety
What is a Cyber Security Threat?
A cyber or cybersecurity threat is a malicious act that seeks to damage data, steal data, or disrupt digital life in general. Here are a few of the common cyber threats.
Malware Attacks
Short for “malicious software” is a file or code, typically delivered over a network, that infects, explores, steals or conducts virtually any behavior an attacker wants. And because malware comes in so many variants, there are numerous methods to infect computer systems. A few types of malware are:
- Spyware
- Ransomware
- Cryptojacking
- Trojan Virus
Social Engineering Attacks
Social engineering attacks work by psychologically manipulating users into performing actions desirable to an attacker, or divulging sensitive information.
- Phishing
- Spear Phishing
- Malvertising
- Vishing
- Pretexting
- Scareware
- Pharming
- Tailgating or Piggybacking
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
A man in the middle (MITM) attack is a general term for when a perpetrator positions himself in a conversation between a user and an application—either to eavesdrop or to impersonate one of the parties, making it appear as if a normal exchange of information is underway.
- IP Spoofing
- Eavesdropping Attack
- Bluetooth Attacks
Password Attacks
Password attacks involve abusing a compromised authorization vulnerability in the system, in combination with automatic password attack tools that accelerate password guessing and cracking.
- Brute-force Password Guessing
- Dictionary Attack
- Pass-the-hash Attack
- Golden Ticket Attack
Resources Sites