When you see a link posted to social media or sent to your email account, do you click on it or ignore it and continue with your day?

Hackers prey on the fact that people are willing to click on a link through email or social media without knowing what the link has embedded into it. Once a link is clicked on once, all data and files stored on the device are then open to the hackers and can be used for malicious purposes.

“Traditional crime—from mortgage and health care fraud to child exploitation—has migrated online. Terrorists use the Internet as a recruiting tool, a moneymaker, a training ground, and a virtual town square, all in one.”
– FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III

Does this mean that users should never click on url links? Of course not, but the threat is still present. That threat can be minimized with a few simple precautions.

cyber security

Photo credit: Don Hankins via Foter.com CC BY

Steps to protect yourself from an online threat:

  1. Do not store personal information on a cloud service. Cloud services can be easily broken into and any information stored there will then be used to cause further harm to your hardware and your personal life. Backing up personal information or your cell phone through an online service is risky and opens you up to hacking. Similarly, keeping credit card information on a site that you frequent is a dangerous risk. If a hacker can access that website or your email that has messages or receipts from that site, then they can also access your credit card information.
  1. Update your security programs. This means making sure subscriptions to anti-spyware and virus protection are current and have the most recent updates available. Anti-virus companies are constantly updating their code to include services that work to keep the newest viruses from infecting your pc, laptop or phone. Do not try to use more than one anti-virus software on the same device. The two software sets will recognize each other a virus and will not only slow down your computer’s performance but it will also prevent either version from protecting your computer efficiently.
  1. Do not use open wifi networks. Starbucks, Mcdonald’s and many other establishments offer free wifi connectivity, which seems great. But hackers frequent these locations as well because once you on that network users can gain access to the personal information on your device. Another problem with free wifi in public places is that hackers have the ability to trace your keystrokes. After which they will be able to log into your device remotely from any location.
  1. Password protect all of your devices. Owning a device that does not have a password on it leaves said device open to people walking along and using your device for their own purposes, like stealing information taking over accounts and then changing passwords so that the owner of the device can never retrieve the information again.
  1. Create a password that is complex and difficult to replicate. This step is necessary because easily guessed passwords will provide easy access to hackers and other nefarious individuals. Using a birthday as a password is a mistake because most people put birthdates and anniversaries on social media for the entire world to see. Hackers will try these types of password first when trying to access your information.
  1. Destroy all personal information on hardware you throwing out or selling. Have you ever sold an old laptop in a garage sale? The hardware may be outdated or broken but the information on the device can still be accessed and the sold to someone who would use the personal information to take over personal banking, email and social media accounts.
  1. Be wary of phishing through links and emails. Since the dawn of chat rooms and email there have been people out there creating scams. These scams will take personal information through your clicks on an email or link. Again once they have access all your accounts and personal information will be vulnerable. Hackers are constantly making new viruses that look like a legitimate alert. The best way to avoid these types of pop ups is to click the “X” on the top of the message. The pop up may have options such as ok or continue and dismiss or cancel, but these are all tricks. Clicking on anything except for the “X” to close the window will put your device at risk.
  1. Don’t link up your social media accounts. Once one is hacked they will all be vulnerable to hacking. Unless you use social media for your profession and have a strong understanding of how linking up accounts works and benefits a user, do not do this.
  1. Make creative and difficult to break security question answers. This means choosing a question that almost no one knows the answer to and an answer that is as complex or personal that only you or your spouse would ever know the answer to.
  1. Update your operating system. Older operating systems have issues. Updates are created by companies to identify weaknesses in the programing and offer a software update that bypasses or circumvents the known issues.
  1. Keep your firewall on. This may seem like a minor detail, however a firewall is what keeps hackers and other users out of your network. Turning your firewall off to access one website is all it takes to put your computer and network and risk.
  1. Be careful what you download. Emails and email attachments are often spam or worse, a virus. Keep mindful watch over what is being emailed to you and what you download from those emails.
  1. Turn off your computer. Turning off your pc, laptop and cell phone is the most foolproof way of keeping an online attack away. While many offs leave our devices on overnight or all week long, you don not know what is happening to your device while you are away from it.
  1. Clear your browser history, cache and cookies. Search engines and browsers keep track of what websites you visit. This makes it easy for hackers to collect a record of where you go online for possible use against you in the future.
  1. Use HTTPS. HTTPS is similar to hyper text transfer protocol, but the “S” stands for secure. This creates another layers of security and encryption which must be authenticated.
  1. Do not log into personal accounts from a public computer. The more individuals who access a particular computer, the more likely it is to have a virus that is ticking your steps online.
  1. Exercise precaution when using a flash drive. Plugging in a flash drive with your own documents seems harmless, but if a corrupted file containing a virus has made its way onto your thumb drive then all it takes is for the drive to be plugged into your device for a virus to be uploaded.
  1. Be careful with online gaming. Problems tend to arise when chatting with other players and users on a free gaming platform. Not only will you give yourself the potential to be hacked, but users often have no idea who they are really talking to through online gaming.

Cyber crime is just about as common as petty crime on the street. The more active you are in maintaining your security online, the better off you are. Can you add to this list of tips? Leave a comment below.