October has been established as a month of cybersecurity, but the dangers continue and we must know how to protect ourselves. Especially now that we are going through a different situation that drives a very large percentage of our work to be done online.
Read helpful tips to stay safe whenever you use the internet.
Check where your messages are coming from:
One of the most well-known but also the most “successful” scams are the ones we receive via e-mail from well-known individuals and companies. Have you ever checked if this email came from the company that appears to have sent it? The information that will betray the fraud is usually well hidden so it is best to contact the company directly from another mail or phone and verify that it is not a scam that aims to steal your data.
Encryption… and say yes to online transactions:
How many times have you had to make an online transaction with your bank, pay an online bill, or even make an online purchase? Technology gives us this opportunity but we also have to be very careful. So when we want to make any online transaction, we never use shared WiFi networks. These transactions must be made from the secure connection of our home where our network and connection are encrypted. So it’s important to make sure your devices have state-of-the-art security systems – especially if those devices allow you to connect to the Internet.
Use Two-Factor Authentication:
It’s important to have a strong password, but it’s even more imperative to have two-factor, or multi-factor, authentication. This method provides two layers of security measures so if a hacker can accurately guess your password, there is still an additional security measure in place to ensure that your account is not breached.
Back-Up Your Data:
These days, storage doesn’t cost much. There’s no excuse not to have a backup of important data. Back it up on a physical location and on the cloud. Remember, malicious threats and hackers don’t always want to steal your data, but sometimes the end-goal is to encrypt or erase it. Back it up to have an ultimate recovery tool.
Use a password management tool:
The passwords you use are one of your shields against hackers. So when you use the same password for all your accounts or the passwords used are very easy, then the “task” of a hacker is even easier. What the experts suggest is to use codes with several characters, numbers, and special symbols, which do not follow a specific pattern so that they are inviolable.
Take appropriate precautions for all
Prevention is the best security measure one can take in many cases, as is the case with the internet. As our daily lives have changed with the pandemic on the rise, more and more work is being done online.
Simple cybersecurity tips like these can go a long way in preventing a catastrophe, but they’ve only scratched the surface of how your users can be educated and protected.
