Your personal and business gadgets (mobile phones, tablets, and laptops) hold valuable information, such as financial records, images, medical records, personal documents, and emails. Unfortunately, cybercriminals also love this information and want to get their hands on it. That said, identity theft, financial fraud, and fraudulent transactions are all problems that could result from your device being stolen or breached. Every day, over 2,220 cyberattacks happen globally. Here are some ways to protect yout devices from this problem.
Table of Contents
- Keep softwares updated
- Use a virtual private network
- Use a strong and unique password
- Install and update your antivirus software
Keep softwares updated
Having outdated software on your computer can lead to vulnerabilities and exposure in your operating system, allowing cyber thieves to access a person’s computer and valuable data. They view these vulnerabilities as open doors into your system, allowing them to hack in and plant malware. Malware is a catch-all phrase for viruses, trojans, and other damaging computer programs that infiltrate your system and access sensitive data. Keeping your software up to date is a simple method to reduce susceptibility and the likelihood of these criminals gaining access to your system.
Use a virtual private network
A website or app typically connects with your phone or computer by submitting a request and receiving a response. When this occurs over a public network, the data is transferred in a visible manner. Someone with network access can view both the request and the response and, in principle, intercept or insert malicious data during the exchange. Those data exchanges are made private using a VPN, which establishes an encrypted connection between your device and a private, secure server that acts as a middleman. When your computer delivers data, it is encrypted and transferred to a distant server which communicates with the website or app on your behalf. When it receives information, the same thing happens: the server receives it first and then transfers it to your device over a secure connection.
The VPN secures your activity so that any hacker or cybercriminal on the same network as you cannot view the data transferred to and from your device. It also masks your IP address, protecting you from attacks and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Alternatively, you can search the internet to manually check how to change IP address Windows 10 if you use that operating system version.
Use a strong and unique password
Use unique passwords and passphrases for each account to protect your accounts from cyber attacks such as credential stuffing. This is a frequent technique cyber thieves use to acquire access to several accounts belonging to a single user. It is an automated cyber assault that leverages stolen credentials from one website to obtain unauthorized access to other accounts that use the same username, email address, and password combination. It is critical to safeguard your accounts and know what to do if you become a victim of a credential-stuffing attack. While using the same passwords on many accounts may sound appealing, it might open you to this cyber attack. However, there are easy precautions you can take to keep your accounts secure while remembering your unique credentials.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)
This is a security procedure in which users offer two distinct authentication factors to be verified. 2FA safeguards both the user’s credentials and the resources the user has access to. It provides a higher degree of security than single-factor authentication (SFA), which requires the user to submit only one element, generally a passcode or password. Two-factor authentication focuses on the user giving a password as the first and distinct element, often a security token or a biometric factor such as a fingerprint or face scan, so keep this in mind.
Install and update your antivirus software
Antivirus software is not the most effective defense against cyber threats. It can, however, do a lot to defend your device against malware. Antivirus software monitors and scans your operating system, files, and emails for risks. It identifies dangers and eliminates potentially harmful files. You can choose the best anti-virus for Android tablets, iPhones, and PCs running Windows or Mac created with the unique characteristics of each operating system in mind. However, if you just install an antivirus and fail to update it on a regular basis, it will be ineffective. Antivirus providers continually monitor hackers’ activity as they provide solutions to secure clients’ computers. Most antivirus programs automatically download updates; ensure this option is not disabled. You may also manually update your softwares from time to time, so feel free to consider this.
