You love to use Wi-Fi anywhere you find one, don’t you? Here\u2019s a lie: the internet is a safe and happy place.<\/p>\n
Heck no, it is not!<\/p>\n
As much as the internet has contributed immensely to how we live, work, and communicate, it is nowhere near safe.<\/p>\n
Digital security poses one of the biggest challenges we face today. And this won\u2019t change any time soon.<\/p>\n
With everything going on in the world, someone might ask: why is online security important?<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s a fair question.<\/p>\n
But the answer is pretty simple. We, or at least most of us, live nearly our entire lives on the internet. We buy there; we sell there. Social media has a ton of photos and videos of us (and our grandma). Some platforms have our location, address, social security numbers, occupation, and much more.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s all kinds of risks with all these vital information on the web.<\/p>\n
Identity theft.<\/p>\n
Stalking.<\/p>\n
Kidnapping.<\/p>\n
Financial crimes, you know, like someone hacking your credit card and siphoning all your money like liquid out of a plastic can.<\/p>\n
The list goes on and on.<\/p>\n
Now you see why online security is crucial.<\/p>\n
With that said, let\u2019s look at 5 simple but effective ways to stay safe online:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard, I know. But it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n
Many of us don\u2019t have the brain space to memorize multiple passwords. It\u2019s hard enough to know your phone number, social security number, credit card PIN, phone password, and such. Adding multiple passwords to this list can be, well, frustrating.<\/p>\n
But you know what\u2019s more frustrating?<\/p>\n
Dealing with identity theft.<\/p>\n
Filing for bankruptcy because some anonymous cybercriminal hacked your credit card and stole all your money.<\/p>\n
So ask yourself: what would you rather worry about?<\/p>\n
I guess the answer is obvious. So what you must do is create one password for each platform you are on, especially if you\u2019ve got sensitive information on them.<\/p>\n
I know, I know, there\u2019s the problem of not remembering all your passwords when you need to. Worry not, there\u2019s a solution to that. Multiple, in fact.<\/p>\n
You could use password managers such as LastPass<\/a> or Keeper<\/a>. They help you manage your passwords and you have access to them whenever you need them.<\/p>\n A lot of people have lost priceless possessions (money, of course) to people through emails and text.<\/p>\n Criminals may pose as your boyfriend, grandma, boss, or anyone else asking for sensitive information.\u00a0 The good thing is, they never perfect. They will most times leave clues you can notice, if you know what to look for.<\/p>\n Here are a few things to watch out for when reading your emails or texts:<\/p>\n You need to know everyone around you really well. Also important is to know your work and personal urls so as to spot a dodgy one.<\/p>\n Hey, hold up: before you lose your hair let me explain\u2026<\/p>\n I am not saying you shouldn\u2019t use public Wi-Fi. That\u2019d be like leaving fish on the table and telling a cat to watch it. Reports have shown that over 70% of mobile device users will use public Wi-Fi whenever they get the opportunity.<\/p>\n The question is: do you which ones are safe?<\/p>\n Logging on to public Wi-Fi can be pretty dangerous. There\u2019s risk of hackers illegally using these networks as a channel to steal user information. Some may broadcast Wi-Fi signals without passwords and lure the unsuspecting. And the minute they enter sensitive data such as email passwords, or say, credit card PIN, whoosh they get stolen.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t want to be that guy.<\/p>\n To be safe, make enquiries about any public Wi-Fi network you want to use. Be wary if it doesn\u2019t require log in details to access it.<\/p>\n As a general rule: treat every public Wi-Fi with utmost suspicion. Use a VPN as an extra measure to ensure that all your data are encrypted.<\/p>\n Be sure to also include a malware or spyware in your list of security measures.<\/p>\n To be safe, there are certain things you need to watch out for.<\/p>\n One of such things is the \u201cprefix\u201d at the beginning of web urls \u2018Https\u2019. If you notice a link doesn\u2019t have the \u2018s\u2019 at the end of the prefix, it\u2019s best to leave it alone.<\/p>\n You may have also noticed a small padlock sign on your browser\u2019s url tab, just before the url text. Before entering any sensitive details, check that the padlock sign is there and locked. If it\u2019s missing or opened (you know, like an opened padlock sign), leave it.<\/p>\n Only enter sensitive details when the padlock is present and locked.<\/p>\n Why is a little padlock so important?<\/p>\n Well, it shows that the website uses encryption to scramble your data so that the bad guys can\u2019t steal it. Again, watch out for typos or spelling errors in any urls before you use it.<\/p>\n One loophole hackers use to get into your computer is outdated software.<\/p>\n They use the weakness of the old versions of your software to gain access and steal your data.<\/p>\n Software developers ensure that they work on updates regularly so as to ensure the safety of their users. You want to make sure you update your apps regularly to get the latest security fixes.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s something you might want to think about:<\/p>\n Instead of doing this manually, you might want to set your devices to update automatically. This way you won\u2019t forget and you will be safe.<\/p>\n Oh and one more thing\u2026<\/p>\n If you are a parent, put some parental control on your kids\u2019 devices and\/or on your home Wi-Fi network. This will prevent them from accessing sites that may pose a digital threat to you or your family.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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