Contributed Post
With most of us spending a high portion of our lives online each day, we’re pretty aware of the fact that there are people out there who prefer to use technology for less than desirable reasons, and whilst technology becoming smarter at detecting this and providing new methods of protection is getting better, the downside is that technology getting better also provides more opportunity for people like hackers and cyber criminals.
So, in this post we’re going to provide you with some simple tips for protecting yourself online that many people actually overlook and put themselves at risk by not implementing.
Use better passwords:
It may or may not surprise you to learn that one of the most common passwords in the world is 1234 – this may be down to people being naive and thinking that they’ll never get hacked, or it could also be down to laziness, but whatever it is, it’s a highly dangerous thing to do if you want to protect yourself from having any of your devices hacked into or your identity stolen online, so it’s time to change those passwords, preferably to something far more unique and original than this, and also keeping them in a safe place if you’re unlikely to remember them.
Although those auto-generated cryptic passwords when you register online for something can be annoying, they do serve a purpose to protect those who use them.
Update and manage passwords regularly:
Another fatal mistake that often leads to people being hacked is having the same password for everything and then never updating it. Sure, it’s easier to remember, but taking some time to come up a better plan could save you a lot of time, hassle, and even money down the road. There are even companies who will help you create and manage your passwords so you don’t have to remember each one whenever you login to another account, so these are definitely worth checking out. For more in-depth help and understanding on the importance of protecting your identity online, visit https://budgetboost.co/best-identity-theft-and-credit-protection-services/.
Avoid public Wi-Fi:
Pretty much everywhere now offers free public Wi-Fi, and although this can be great when you need to check something urgently or get in touch with someone, it’s also quite risky since these networks are often unsecured which makes them a goldmine for hackers or people trying to steal your information. Only use public Wi-Fi if you really need to and disconnect as soon as possible. Also, if you can avoid it, don’t conduct anything like online banking or deal with anything of a sensitive nature that you wouldn’t want someone to steal.
Back everything up:
It’s now easier than ever to securely back up copies of everything from personal photos to documents like passports, birth certificates and banking information thanks to widely available free or low cost cloud storage solutions which are far more difficult to access by hackers than the content on your actual device. The other benefit of cloud storage aside from the safety aspect is that its frees up space on your hard drive so your device is less prone to crash or run slow.
