Did you know that cybercrime costs the global economy more than $1 trillion dollars each year? It’s more important than ever to take care of yourself online.
But keeping your information secure can be difficult. Many people don’t know how to maintain online security.
Wondering how to stay safe online? Read on for some handy hints!
1. Exercise Good Password Management
All kinds of websites and programs that we use require passwords. It can be tempting to key in “1234” or something simple, but this is a recipe for disaster.
The first step of staying safe online is to ensure your passwords are secure. This means choosing a password with different characters, cases, letters, and numbers.
It’s also important to use different passwords for your various logins. If you use the same password all the time, you only need to have one password compromised and then the rest will fall like dominos.
2. Maintain Modern Antivirus Systems
An antivirus system is one of the most important shields you have against threats online. But if you don’t keep yours up to date, you could miss out on the full level of protection.
Be sure your firewall is up to date too. This means if you do click a link or download, you’ll have a degree of protection.
3. Be Skeptical
If you’ve been online for any amount of time, you’ve probably received at least one email from a “Nigerian prince” who needs your bank details so they can send you their fortune. This is one of the most common internet scams around, but some scams are a little harder to detect.
There are all kinds of people online looking to get your money or personal details.
You also need to look out for scammers and hackers who may be disguised as your close friends and family. Bad actors online can steal accounts or use spoof email addresses to pretend to be someone they’re not.
4. Use an Anonymous Email Service
As we already mentioned, emails are one of the most common sources of scams. Bad actors will do their best to get hold of your email address, then send you scam emails, or messages laded with attachments and links containing viruses.
A decentralized email system can help you with protecting data and preventing hackers from accessing your devices.
5. Keep It Private
Just like in the real world, it’s important to stay private online. You wouldn’t announce your home address and bank details when shopping at the mall, so why should it be any different in your emails or in an online chatroom?
There are several key ways to maintain online privacy.
- Don’t disclose information online
- Disable “cookies” when visiting a new website
- Engage privacy settings
- Use a VPN
Try to get into the habit of hiding your information whenever you go online.
Now You Know How to Stay Safe Online! What’s Next?
Staying safe online might seem daunting at first. But once you get into good habits, you’ll soon find it’s not as hard as you think to secure your personal information.
We hope you enjoyed these tips about how to stay safe online. Want to read more great content to keep you informed? Check out our blog for lots more great content.