Hacking and data breaches have become very common as technology advances. Data breaches expose all your personal information to cybercriminals and stay a threat to you for a long time, knowing a third party is aware of all your personal information. You don’t need to be famous in order to be of interest to a hacker for stealing your information because cybercrime is real and is on the loose right under our noses.
Every day, you tend to expose some part of your personal information on the internet be it on social media, sending out resumes, or even when entering your credit card numbers for online shopping. You might unconsciously be sending out this sensitive information either from your mobiles or from your computers while binging on a show using your Cox cable bundles by Cox Communications. But you need to be aware and take caution, increasing your data security and taking all the required steps for it.
Password Security
When setting passwords for any online accounts, think carefully and choose passwords that are not common words and not easy to figure out. Instead of only using words, which hackers can most definitely easily figure out, use numbers, upper and lower-case letters, and symbols and get in the habit of changing your passwords from time to time, in case somebody figures it out.
Moreover, instead of using the same passwords on multiple sites, try using different passwords for every site or application you use, because if one is compromised, there is a chance the hacker might try hacking all of your accounts by cracking the same code. If you have difficulty remembering all passwords, you can note them down in a personal diary.
Stop Oversharing
We tend to post a lot of personal information on social media without even realizing it can be used against us by someone. We might not be aware, but hackers might not only be unknown people, sometimes they could be added to your socials and you would not even have a clue. We all either know someone or we might be guilty of posting everything online ourselves, but it is necessary to take caution since anyone’s account can be at risk at any time.
You should check your privacy settings to ensure who is allowed to see your personal information and make your content only available to your close friends. Furthermore, even when your account only includes friends, you should avoid sharing any private details, passwords, pins, or even your location.
Free Wi-Fi is Not Always Safe
Many times, when out shopping or eating, you tend to come across free wi-fi that attracts you because there is no password required. But you need to be absolutely aware of the fact that sometimes these free wi-fi come with heavy tolls as they have minimal security measures. Other people using the same public wi-fi might be able to get access to your information, hence, it is not advised to enter any sensitive information on any website while using public wi-fi.
Scam Links and Attachments
We’ve all been victims of scam emails informing us that we’ve either won the lottery we never applied for or emails or messages that include viral links sugarcoated with an intriguing name. Cybercriminals always use such shady and sneaky ways to breach your data by making their scams look like important documents you might have received from banks or links mentioning it contains your videos or pictures. You can differentiate scam e-mails from real ones by checking for spelling mistakes, URLs, and mailing addresses.
Check Site Security
Before entering any private information or passwords, you should check to see if there is a lock symbol and if the URL begins with ‘HTTP’, at the top of the browser, to ensure that the website is secure and authentic. To further ensure if the website is secure or not, you can take a look at their contact information, privacy policy, and a verified security seal.
Additional Protection
Apart from taking all the cautionary steps, you can take yourself; it is important to take additional security steps to add an extra layer of protection to your private data. You can take a look at cyber insurance and install software like anti-virus, anti-spyware, and even add a firewall.
Conclusion
Without data protection, it will be very difficult to keep any of your information safe. It is essential that you tread carefully when entering any personal information across any platform. Timely, taking all necessary steps can help save you from becoming a victim of cybercrime.
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