There are few steps given below to browse secure on Internet. Following
them strictly will reduce the risk of losing your valuable information.
1. Always remember that somebody is watching your activities. You are an
attractive target to hackers who sniff around the net. Don’t think that ‘I am
Safe”
2. Physical security of your device is as important as logical security.
Please lock your systems (Desktops, Laptops and Smart Phones etc.) so that no
one can use it while you are away. If you are using some external devices like
external hard disks, flash drives etc. please do not keep it unattended. Keep
them in a safe locker.
3. Always follow the secure password policy. Use a strong mix of
characters to form your password. Don’t use same password for multiple sites.
Do not write your password anywhere just to remember it and sharing your
passwords with others will harm you. People use easy to guess and similar
passwords for the simple reason that they have too many and they can be hard to
remember. But remember, it is one of the biggest security mistakes. An ideal
password needs to be hard to guess. It should be long, have capitals, special
characters and it should not be related to something someone might know about
you (e.g: date of birth),
4. Do not click on email links or attachments you do not recognise. If
it’s unexpected or suspicious for any reason, don’t click on it. Double check
the URL of the website the link takes you to: bad actors will often take
advantage of spelling mistakes to direct you to a harmful domain. Malware – a
malicious piece of code - could get on your machine when you open an attachment
or link.
Clicking on unknown links may lead to
“phishing” sites that harvest usernames and passwords.
Pay attention to suspect emails as more and
more hackers are getting sophisticated in the way they write them.
It may be easy to avoid the email which claims
you have won lottery.
5. Hackers can harvest usernames and password using fake WebPages
designed to look like the ones you use, such as your bank or your Face book
account.
You put your username and password in and in
real-time while you are doing that, they are doing the same on your banking
page. They are not storing it for later but robbing you real time. Hence sensitive
browsing, such as banking or shopping, should only be done on a device that
belongs to you, on a network that you trust. Whether it’s a friend’s phone, a
public computer, or a cafe’s free Wi-Fi—your data could be copied or stolen.
6. Beware of sharing sensitive information such as your vacation plan,
your work details etc. on social platforms. Criminals can befriend you and
easily gain access to a shocking amount of information
7. Beware of Pop-ups. If we are generally
aware about suspicious attachments, we might not think that closing a pop-up
window might make us vulnerable to hacking. When you are shopping online for
instance, and get an ad pop up, clicking and closing on one of those might
actually install a malicious piece of code on your machine that may lead to
steal your sensitive information by hackers.
8. Back up your data regularly, and make sure your anti-virus software is
always up to date.
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