The real security emergency is online. According to some estimates, cyberattacks grew by 38% in 2018. In the vast majority of cases (4 out of 5), hacker attacks aim to extort money from victims: this is the case of computers “locked” by ransomware, which are only unlocked for ransom or secret information captured without their knowledge. Of users, and that could end up on the web if the victims do not pay large sums of money. However, phishing, which aims to steal the victim’s data, and attacks on the world of health data, are also growing (+ 99%).

How to defend yourself? Assoprovider offers you ten tips to start from.

1. Watch out for emails and private messages.

It may seem trivial to repeat it, but it is essential: NEVER click on links and attachments that seem suspicious to us. NEVER. Always check who the recipient is: sometimes, in emails, the so-called phishing is practiced when a user pretends to be someone else in the hope of getting “bitten”. It often happens with banks or post offices: they tell you that they had to block your card, they invite you to enter your access data, and they steal your credentials (and therefore the money).

Always pay attention to the sender, therefore. Sometimes, hackers also exploit your friends’ identities: on the web, so don’t trust anyone. To get an extra clue as to the security of the message, analyze the link you were asked to click on: if the address starts with Https (where the s is essential), then it is probably a safe site.

This applies to the messages received. For those sent, there are other risks such as sexting: always pay attention to the images you send. If we shoot intimate photos in private, the risk is that they will go public without our consent.

1. Select friends

Friend requests, followings, Skype contacts, emails: the web is now THE place to connect. But just like in reality, people who approach us online don’t always have the best of intentions. The rule is not to accept invitations from people we don’t even know “live” or who don’t come with a presentation message explaining their goals.

1. Browse safely

As in a city, even on the web, there are safer areas and others less so. There is particular content online in which cybercriminals prefer to lure users into a “trap”: porn sites, for example, or the platforms where it is possible to download copyrighted content for free ( films, TV series, and so on).

To avoid problems, it is always better to surf safely, staying away from this type of portals: sometimes, just one “wrong” click is enough to unknowingly share all your data.

1. Deep Web, the dark power of online

Speaking of gray areas on the Internet, the dark web is certainly the most famous. It is a real-world of its own, which can only be accessed using special software (such as the Tor browser). Its reputation as a “dark” place is certainly deserved (just do an online search to understand what you can find here), but the dark web is actually also used for many legitimate and legal activities, which, however, need real connections—Anonymous and communications protected by encrypted codes.

However, given the predominantly illegal nature of what happens here, it is good not to go into it, not without full awareness of the software and dynamics that take place here.

1. Check the connection

If you don’t want to be hacked, beware of public Wi-Fi connections: at the airport, at the coffee shop, or in other public places, Internet connections are not always checked as carefully as private ones. Avoid using them if you can, or be careful when you do it: it is better to avoid, for example, accessing your online banking app when connected to a public network.

1. Doxxing risk: pay attention to what you post.

The Net does not forget. If you think you have complete control of what you post online, you are wrong. Even when you delete a photo, your personal data, or a comment from a social network, in fact, it is not certain that someone has not already “stolen” it: a few moments are enough to take a screenshot.

The rule is: don’t share anything you don’t want your mom or employer to see.

In this way, you will avoid the so-called “doxxing”, when friends or complete strangers steal your private information.

In this sense, it is important to pay attention to the privacy settings you have set on your different profiles, choosing, for example, not to automatically accept the “tag” of other people to your photos that they publish online.

1. Apps are not a game.

Due to the overwhelming success that some of them have – especially the gaming ones, think of Pokèmon Go or Fortnite – the apps have become the favorite target of some bad guys, not necessarily hackers in this case.

For example, there are apps that have poorly transparent payment and subscription systems: never reveal the data of your cards and accounts online when you are not sure who developed the game.

1. Filter and limit

Today’s children and young people are born with a smartphone and a tablet in hand. They often know its “secrets” better than we do, but are we sure that it is a perfectly safe tool?

The best approach for adults is to have a calm conversation about the subject with their children or other minors for whom they are responsible. It is good to illustrate to them the risks of some activities (such as sexting, which we have mentioned) and to guide them to greater awareness, also to limit their use during the day.

An additional possibility is to select for them the so-called parental control, software that limits access to certain sites and content considered unsuitable for too young an audience.

1. Update everything

First of all, you need to have a good antivirus (there are many, even free) and to update it periodically. It is then appropriate to provide for regular scans of PCs and smartphones to identify any viruses and malware. However, the advice to update everything also extends to the operating system used (Windows, Linus, iOs, and so on) and the applications and software that we use most often in order to improve the overall security of our devices.

1. IoT: if “things” become gateways for hackers

That of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Things, is a great opportunity, which, however, can prove to be a threat. Today almost all the “things” we have connected to the Internet: from the oven to the thermostat. However, this makes our online security more vulnerable: every connected device is, in fact, a possible gateway for a hacker also, because some manufacturers have not implemented the necessary safety measures.

It is possible to defend against whoever wants to hack you, of course. Mainly in two ways. First of all, by installing a good firewall, a barrier is placed between the different segments of the network, which helps protect your data. The best are equipped with systems for encryption.

The second thing we can do – which applies to all of our devices and network logins and not just the IoT – is to use really strong passwords. They must always be different, not postpone to important dates (data that could be easily found on Facebook, for example); they must be complex and therefore contain letters, numbers, special characters. If they then form (complex) sentences with complete meaning, even better.

Author bio: 

Basit Ali is a Digital marketer and developer at Cognizantt work on many projects like Research Prospect, famous for his dissertation writing services in the UK. He specializes in SEO, SMO, SEM. Avid football fan and sports enthusiasts. He also loves to read and write about new things and trends.