Because of the increasingly dangerous threats that face us when we go online. Keeping our families protected is as important as ever. In this article, you will learn about the many options you have that can help to keep your computer and your loved one’s safe.
With physical properties such as homes, cars, and personal items, you make sure that you have adequate security in place. However, many do not consider online as the real world and neglect their security. If you were to stop and think about it for a second, you spend a lot of your time online, whether it’s using social media, for business purposes, or simply logging into emails or online banking. You’re exposing a lot of information each time, and it is this information that cybercriminals want to get their hands on.
Without using popular security software such as Guardio online security, antivirus, firewalls, anti-malware tools, or any of the other great tools, that information might just fall into the wrong hands.
What is Digital Security?
Without going into technical terms or fancy names, digital security is the protection of your home’s computers and devices that connect to the internet. It is to protect those devices and those that use them, against viruses, phishing scams, identity theft, and all the other threats that we face. Some of these tools will also help to keep your internet activity safe, a commodity that hackers sell to marketing companies.
Cybercriminals, hackers, scum, or whatever you want to call them to use a variety of methods to access your computer and steal information that they can use to make money.
What is Hacking?
Thanks to Hollywood movies, the stereotypical hacker is a hoody-wearing teenager with nothing better to do. However, in real life, hackers come in all shapes, sizes, ages, colours, and ethnicities. They all have a similar aim, however, and that is to access your computer or device. They constantly look for vulnerabilities in your operating system, network, browser, or any other software to gain access to your system.
How to Protect Against Hacking and Other Online Threats?
- Install Antivirus and Other Security Tools: Would you ride a motorbike without a crash helmet? If you go online without at minimum, antivirus and a firewall, you cannot really complain if you get hurt. You’re leaving your front door open and inviting hackers to come in and steal your stuff. On top of that, you want to use other tools such as browser protection software, anti-spyware and anti-malware protection, and more.
- Perform All Software Updates: It’s tempting to hold back on the many updates your operating system and applications want to install, but most of the time, there is a reason for these updates. They are not just to make your software look pretty, sometimes they are needed to close vulnerabilities and loopholes.
- Use 2-Factor Authentication: This is another security feature that can be annoying when you try to sign in but need to get an OTP each time. However, this is effective against cyber criminals because even if they have your login details, they cannot access your online accounts. Always use this no matter how annoying it might be.
- Avoid Phishing Scams: Most of you should know this by now, but the people behind phishing scams come up with sophisticated new methods all the time. It is not just a case of random links getting sent to your email anymore. Sometimes they can come as advert-like pop-ups. Just pay strict attention to what you click – as one wrong could cause your computer to get infected or hacked.
Only Visit Secure Websites
One of the most common ways you hackers gain access to our systems is via malware. This is malicious software designed to access your computer and cause damage or steal information. Malware can infect your computer in many ways, but one of the most common is via unsecured websites. SSL encryption technology does not protect websites that do not have an SSL certificate. This makes it easy for malware to infect the website and anyone else that connects to it.
Many browsers will warn you before visiting such websites, but you should always check for yourself too. A secured website has a URL that starts with HTTPS, while HTTP means it is unsecured.
