12 Jul Protect Yourself from Hackers
Nowadays, hacking incidents are becoming more rampant. This is why it is important for you to know how to protect yourself from being hacked.
In this article, you will get valuable information and tips on how to protect yourself from cyber attacks.
Information That Can Be Useful For Hackers
Before we discuss the tips on how to protect yourself from being hacked, it is important first to identify what information that they can use against you. You might not realize it, but you have put much of your personal information on the internet. This includes the following:
● Personally Identifiable Information- This includes your name, date of birth, address, medical records, tax numbers, and employment details.
● Emails- These are usually kept on servers that hackers can exploit to gain vital information about your life.
● Browsing Data- It’s common for hackers to collect browsing information so that they can spy on your internet activities without you realizing it.
Tips on How to Prevent Being Hacked
Although technology has a lot of benefits, using it can put you at risk for hacking. Luckily, there are several ways on how to protect yourself against it. Here are some examples:
● Use VPN
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It’s a good method of how to defend against hackers because it provides you with online anonymity and privacy.
It works by masking your IP address so that your online activities are virtually untraceable. In short, it stops hackers from intercepting your data and using it for their bad intentions.
● Use Encryption
Another way of how to protect from hackers is by using encryption. This is a method of making your information into a secret code to hide its true meaning. It might sound complicated, but there are software apps that allow you to do this to your files in a few clicks.
● Reduce Your Digital Footprint
Over the years, it has become almost second nature for people to post about what they feel during a particular day or post pictures of what they eat or where they are at. However, many do not realize that oversharing on the internet makes it easier for hackers to make you a victim.
Thus, one of the best methods of how to prevent from being hacked is to reduce your digital footprint. You can do this by keeping your social media accounts private, filtering the friend request you accept, and turning off face recognition and location services.
● Take Advantage of Passcodes and Lock Codes
Passcodes and lock codes are designed to ensure that only you or those who are authorized can access particular information. Unfortunately, many people disregard this and are too lazy to come up with a strong password. But it’s one of the best ways to protect your phone from being hacked.
What makes a strong password?
A strong password should be at least 8 characters long with a mix of the upper and lower case. There should also be numbers included. As much as possible, avoid using auto-complete features for passwords and lock codes because hackers might be spying on you, and they can easily figure out your combination. Using a strong password is also a way to protect emails from being hacked.
There’s a lot to lose if you become a victim of hacking. Your reputation can be ruined, or worse, you can suffer from financial loss. This is why ensuring that you take the necessary steps on how to protect yourself from hackers is essential.