Hackers. They’re awful, and they can cause irreparable harm to you and your business. Their stealthy techniques allow them to infiltrate your defenses, and wreak havoc in the process. But what exactly is hacking? Do these guys and gals actually sit in some high-tech basement somewhere figuring out what your password is, with sophisticated devices and coding expertise? Or are their efforts much simpler, and more sinister? Truth be told, hackers are often given access to your files, folders, and operating system by you. Through a series of devious techniques – phishing, pharming, and spyware – these criminals are always on the prowl.
Vigilance is your best defense against their efforts. Identity theft is arguably the biggest concern whenever you log onto your Internet-connected device. Once your Social Security number (SSN), or ID number is stolen, alongside your name, address, and credit card information, it can be a disaster remedying the situation. People have had their entire livelihoods destroyed, their credit scores ruined, and endured tremendous financial hardship as a result of identity theft. Sadly, many of these problems can be avoided by simply following commonsense advice.
Today, we’re going to stop them in their tracks!
- Create a unique password for every single website that you log into. It’s a real pain in the a**, but it’s absolutely essential if you want to stay safe online. Too many people create a rudimentary password for all the most important accounts they access on a daily basis. Email, banking accounts, social media, CMS systems, and the like. Store your username/password combinations with password managers (protected by a single master password), or encrypt them with password protectors, add-ons, plug-ins, and security software. The types of passwords you create are equally important. Avoid birthdays, names of relatives, anniversary dates, or names of pets – they are too easy to guess. Use RNG-style password generators to create uncrackable passwords. You won’t be sorry you did!
- Block problematic websites while you’re busy working or studying. Hackers take advantage of you while you’re distracted. It’s easy to distract you when you’re actually looking for a distraction. During work or study sessions, long hours become tedious. It’s easy to shift focus from the important stuff that you’re doing to trivial content such as pop-ups, jokes, email attachments, websites, apps, and other multimedia content that is designed to draw your attention.
Security consultants stress that it’s important to know how to block specific websites in order to stay safe online. Fortunately, there are powerful tools that you can use to do precisely that. Keep the noise at bay, and your mind focused on what’s important. It’s possible with powerful software for browsers like Chrome and Firefox, and android devices. Many of these tools allow you to select which websites you’d like to block so that you’re not distracted.
- Use two factor authentication to protect against the nefarious advances of hackers. This is an indispensable tip, and one that everyone should implement. 2 FA makes it impossible for hackers to access your personal information if they don’t have access to your email and your phone. Codes are needed to verify the identity of the account holder, rendering any hacking attempts invalid. 2 FA is now readily used for bank account logins, email logins, and other high-value website logins.
- Protecting your hardware from hacking attempts – keep your eyes on the prize. If you bring your laptop, smartphone, iPad, iPod Touch, or other mobile device with you to coffee shops, hotels, swimming pools, the beach, conferences, work, or any other public space, be sure to keep your eyes on these devices. Don’t leave them unlocked while they are left unattended. Secondly, install the latest antivirus software, anti-malware, anti-spyware, and pop-up blockers. Keep these up-to-date at all times. This goes for your operating system software too. And the final tip is one which most people fail to do – disable connections when they’re not in use. This is especially true if you’re using an Internet network that’s not yours.
- Change the DNS system that your computer uses. When you connect to the Internet, there is an automatic DNS service that links your computer to the web. It is easy to set up a new DNS system. With Mac operating systems, click on System Preferences, Network Settings, Advanced, and Select DNS. Use the following options to change the server location to your preferred DNS address: Quad9, 9.9.9.9, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, or Google, 8.8.8.8. These DNS services test the security of websites that you are visiting to ensure that you’re not traipsing into dangerous territory!
