Cyber Security Tips on how to stay safe online in 2017
Next year is another year of challenge for security experts to provide the best protection to the consumers . We are living in an age where new ways of stealing consumers ’ personal and financial data online were always made each day by cybercriminals .
We are aware of this predicament , so we would like to offer some help even if it ’ s through our posts . We prepared the following tips to help you stay safe online and to ready yourself for the next year filled with internet security challenges .
Always install updates on your software
This should be applied in each of your electronic devices , not just in your desktop or laptop but also in your mobile devices and television as well . It is very important for the general public to understand how crucial updating software is . Software companies are creating new ways to stop cybercriminals ’ new ways of stealing your private information , and they promptly release fixes for those vulnerabilities through their updates .
Steer clear of “ phishing ” scams
We ’ ve discussed this many times already but phishing aims to steal your sensitive data by making you submit those data into their bogus websites . Be extra careful because “ phishers ” can copy the exact page of a legitimate website . Closely examine a website and double check its URL , because fake sites often have a slight difference to the genuine one . This also applies to email phishing scams because attackers can make an email looks legitimate , carefully check its email address because there could be some characters that don ' t match the real company ’ s email address .
Your account should have recovery contacts
If you can ’ t log in to your account , you can be sure that companies will have other channels to confirm your identity by adding a recovery contact to your account . It is often in the form of a phone number or an alternate email address . Recovery contacts serve as the companies ’ bridge of communication to you in case your account has been compromised .
Use a unique password for each account you have
If you have various accounts for different websites , never use the same password . We understand some people ’ s misery regarding this matter , because according to them , passwords are difficult to remember . The solution we see for this problem is using a password manager to better handle your passwords .
Set up a two-factor authentication or 2FA
Two-step authentication process further adds security to your account by requiring another code along with your remembered password . The code is sent to your smartphone via text or generated by an app . Even if the bad guys have your username and password , they can ’ t access your account without the code sent to your mobile device .