The internet has revolutionized the way we do business and communicate, but to an extent it seems that this great technology may also pose some risks. According to McAfee’s 2011 Threats Report, instances of hacking are on the rise. The report reports “an 866 percent increase in malware over last year, with credit card stealing Trojans up an awesome 3,566 percent.”
Hackers are a frightening bunch whether or not working as a part of a criminal syndicate or an idealist with a political timetable, they were given the information and the energy to access your important record. Down below are the 7 best Ways To Protect Against Hackers.
This article’s aim is to focus on some most common ways that hackers access your information and give you a brief overview of how to defend yourself from their tactics.
Think of your home laptop or PC as a company. What are you able to do to shield it towards hackers? Or opposed to sitting again and ready to get inflamed, why no longer arm yourself and combat again?
Table of Contents
Here are 7 best ways to protect against hackers:
1. Keep Your Software Up-to-date
Keep updating your Operating System and other software programs regularly. This keeps hackers from accessing your laptop via vulnerabilities in old packages.
For additional protection, enable Microsoft product updates in order that the Office suite may be updated on the regular basis. Keep in mind retiring especially old software program including java or flash.
According to a survey by Microsoft Corp., security breaches fell by 40% in 2010 as a result of criminals targeting older versions of software with known security flaws.
To protect yourself, always update your operating system and web browser to the latest version. Also, enable Auto-updates on all your other applications that have them available.
2. Download Updated Antivirus Software’s:
Keep up to date protection programs, together with antivirus and anti-malware software program, anti-spyware, and a firewall. To trick even the maximum villainous hackers, don’t forget investing in anti-exploit technology, such as Malwarebytes anti-exploit so that you can prevent attacks earlier than they show up.
Make sure that you are downloading antivirus software from legitimate software providers.
There are many websites that offer free downloads of antimalware program, but they are not the official website.
Be very careful when installing them because many of them come with spyware or malware programs.
While most antivirus software has their own updates, it is still important that you download the latest updates to fix security holes.
You can do this by checking the antivirus software’s website for updates or you can set your computer to automatically update it.
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3. Do not Use Open Wifi:
Hackers use open Wi-Fi connections to gain access to user’s personal information. Protect your wifi with an encrypted password, and remember fresh your device every few years.
Some routers have vulnerabilities which can be never patched. Newer routers let you provide guests with segregated wireless access. They make common password changes very easy.
This is very easy for people that are using mobile phones or laptops because most wireless networks are unprotected for anyone to use. There are several ways that hackers can gain access to your personal information by using open wifi.
One way is to put up a fake wifi connection that looks very real. When someone tries to connect, the hackers can capture all of their personal information. This is known as a man in the middle attack.
Another way is through IP spoofing. This is when the hacker changes their IP address to match yours so they can get access to your internet.
All they have to do is enter the same IP address, subnet mask and default gateway as yours. The last way that they can gain access is by using packet sniffing. This happens when a hacker watches all traffic being sent from you or to you without being detected.
4. Use Complex Password to Protect Your Devices:
People can hack into your accounts if you use very easy passwords to access them. They might use a dictionary or they might try and figure out your password with trial and error. An easy way to make sure that your information stays secure is by using complex passwords.
This will make it harder for hackers to access your information. You should also try to change your password regularly so that it is always secure. People can access old passwords very easily if you haven’t changed them for a long period of time.
The ubiquity of mobile devices makes them mainly vulnerable. Lock your phone and make the timeout pretty short.
Use fingerprint lock for the iPhone and passkey or swipe for Android. This makes difficult for hackers to access your devices.
5. Remove Unknown Emails:
In case you receive e-mails from a random person, do no longer hassle to open the email, simply delete it. If you have any doubts after reading the call and the situation, it’s probably not a person you recognize. Never download or open attachments unless you are positive it’s from someone.
People are most likely to become hacked by opening the wrong email. This is because most people don’t even bother checking their emails anymore. You should always check your emails before you download something or click on a link inside it.
If you have an email that doesn’t have any writing or pictures in it, this means that it is spam. You should delete these emails because there might be a virus or some kind of malware attached to them.
You should also watch out for fake emails from companies that you do business with. These fake emails will have similar names as the company’s CEO and they will ask you to disclose personal information such as your password.
This is a trick to get your information so that they can hack into your account.
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6. Keep Sensitive Data Off the Clouds:
Many people use services like Dropbox or Google Drive to keep copies of their files in the cloud, but even if you encrypt your sensitive data with a long password before uploading it, there is still a good chance hackers will be able to gain access. It’s not because these services are insecure.
They may have very high levels of security — but because they are a type of cloud service that allows you to share files with others. So, if your password is compromised and someone else uploads a virus or spyware to your account, suddenly your sensitive data is easily accessible by hackers.
Keep sensitive data off the cloud. No matter which way you cut it, data stored in the cloud doesn’t belong to you. There are very few cloud storage solutions that offer encryption for ‘data at rest.’ Use the cloud accordingly. If it’s important, don’t.
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7. Avoid Clicking Ads:
Most of us are used to clicking on ads but have you ever stopped to think about where these ads are taking you?
If the ad contains a link, it is most likely going to be an affiliate website. These websites will try and get you to sign up for different things so they can earn money from your clicks.
You have to surf the internet smartly. Avoid clicking on ads if you can. Especially the one’s ads where something is flying around and if you shoot the duck, you win a few prize! advertisements have come to be more sophisticated in that they are trying to make the advert interactive so you’ll be tempted to play it like a game.
Conclusion
As the world becomes more and more connected, hackers are going to find new ways of making money. However, you can protect your data by following a few simple steps outlined here in this blog post.
What else do you think is important for protecting your digital life? Let us know what we missed!
