5 things to do to avoid being hacked
As the average person, you’re more vulnerable online than you might think. Especially if you don’t intend for anyone to use your account, it’s best to be vigilant and take a few extra precautions. If you don’t properly protect your accounts, there’s a chance of compromise by others. This includes the theft of credit card and all of your personal messages and photos shared with the public. You can always take some steps to minimize any potential risks of a breach.
- Enable the use of two-factor or multi-factor authentication for your online accounts to protect them. The verification method uses a secondary piece of information often in the form of a code generated either by an app or sent via SMS. This secondary piece of information proves that you are actually the one trying to log in. Even if you have a password that’s pretty easy to guess, the account would still be secure unless the attacker has your phone. You should enable two-factor authentication for all accounts that contain information that could be abused such as your email accounts, your Facebook account and any other messaging or social media apps like WhatsApp, your Instagram account, etc.
- Proper use of passwords. All usernames and passwords should be complex and completely unique, containing several different character types, and never used on any other site. Keep your passwords distinct when you’re using them for two different sites. For example, don’t use the same password for your Twitter account that you do for your online bank account and Facebook. The best way to do this is by using a password manager. Password manager apps create strong passwords for you and store them securely.
- Be wary of phishing attacks. Clicking on links in your inbox or text messages can be very dangerous. Impulse and without hesitation clicking to eye-catching, tempting text, is what leads us to fall for the trap. Even though it’s impossible to protect yourself against every type of fraud or phishing attempt, cause scammers are always improving and coming up with new tricks, you can reduce their effectiveness by remaining alert, thinking before you click, and only downloading from verified sources.
- Update the applications. Every piece of software you come in contact with, is open to attack. In the technology industry, people are always looking out for bugs and fixing them. That’s why it’s important to keep your device updated with the latest updates of apps and software you use. Automatic updates for apps and games. Apple iOS and downloads receive automatical update, although these settings can have customizations. On Android, however, you can enable it by going to the settings page in the Google Play Store.
- Clear your digital “footprint”. The past can come back to haunt you. Old online accounts that you no longer use and the login credentials that belong to them can be used against you. if you do nothing about them. Hackers often use details from past data breaches to access accounts like yours. Simple ways to do this would be deleting your Google search history or turning off location history. You can also do more to protect your privacy by deleting old accounts and cleaning up your digital footprint. This will help you avoid spam and reduce the information hackers can steal from you.
In case you want to learn more on ways to prevent intrusion in the cyberspace, you can consult the following guide,
https://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Hacking.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
