Cyber
Security Tips
There are at
least 3 tips about computer security you can't afford to miss. Many people try
to avoid thinking about these issues, which is understandable. However, there
are consequences to avoiding that sort of thing, and it isn't something that
people should put off indefinitely.
Being
Careful About What's Posted on Social Media
A lot of
people don't care about what they post on social media. They might think that
no one is really going to care and that no one is going to dive through the
archives. In fact, a lot of cyber criminals will get all of the information
that they need about someone through the social media profile information that
is available online in the first place.
People often
try to figure out how a cyber criminal could possibly have figured out an
obscure password. In some cases, it's just because the cyber criminal in
question managed to spot some sort of a reference to the password within a
given social media profile.
It's
important for people to realize just how persistent and dedicated a good
portion of these criminals really are. Cyber criminals will sometimes comb
through every single social media profile over and over again in order to look
for anything that they can use. It's important to make sure that there is
nothing there to find.
Choose the
Right Passwords
There are
people who still make their passwords things like '123456789.' Other people
will use information that is really easy to find, such as their dates of birth,
graduation dates, addresses, or something else that a cyber criminal will try
immediately. Passwords that literally spell out 'password' are just as common,
and some services will still accept passwords that are that basic.
People might
think that there is something ironic about choosing a simple password and that
a cyber criminal will think that this password is just too silly to try. In
fact, countless people seem to think that. There is no password that will seem
too basic for the cyber criminals, since there is no password that is going to
be too basic for people to try. It's important for everyone involved to really
see things from the perspective of their opponents.
Wipe your phones and hard drives
One step that is often overlooked, is that sensitive information is still available on an old hard drive or cell phone. Make sure to backup your data and then have the device wiped and erased.
Be Cautious
About Sharing Personal Information Online
It's
important for everyone involved to be wary about ever sharing personal
information online. People will sometimes get email requests that will actually
require them to enter in their company account information and personal account
information. It's important to ignore all of those.
The main way
that cyber criminals get sensitive information these days is through phishing,
of course. People should remember to avoid visiting websites that are going to
require sensitive information in the first place. There are plenty of other
websites out there that are not going to give people these sorts of unrealistic
requirements.
While not
all websites that require personal information for entry are phishing scams,
there are too many of them that are today, and so it is not worth the risk.