From buying stuff to banking transactions and investing to working in offices, much of the tasks can be conducted online. Most people are taking full advantage of mobile technology and high-speed internet. While many people are not taking preventive measures to protect their sensitive details and information when online, cyber criminals are active than ever before to gain access to consumer data and information that can be used for malicious purposes. Even some people share their information online usually on social media sites and online communities that bad guys can use to take inside look at their personal lives.
This is the reason; one should be thoughtful when sharing personal details and information either with online merchants or on social media profiles to stay safe and protected. Here in this article, we have mentioned some tips that online users can take on to make their online transactions, information and communications more secure and protected.
Use Public Wi-Fi with caution
When it comes to shop some coolest things on Amazon or on any other online retailer, you may need to share some personal and financial details with the retailer. And most public networks have little security layers in place. This means, anyone using the same network can easily gain access to your personal data shared during an online transaction or activity. That’s why, you should wait for a while until you are able to use a personal secured connection or make sure to use a reliable VPN to carry out an online transaction or sharing financial details.
Check to see if the site is secure
Whether you want to buy glasses online or about to make an online payment, make sure to have a look at the URL bar to see if the site is secure or not. If you can see a padlock symbol and HTTPS in the URL, it means the site you are visiting is secure and all the submitted information will automatically be encrypted. This means your personal or financial information would be protected from any third parties and malicious persons.
Watch out for links and attachments
As technology is evolving, cybercriminals are using modern ways to compromise personal details and information of online users. They often create phishing scams look like sincere communications either from a financial institute, bank, brand or corporate entity. That’s why, always watch out for links and attachments found in the emails and avoid clicking links that look malicious. However, you can see spelling errors, or a non-professional email ID to identify phishing emails.
Set Up Multifactor Authentication
Along with creating strong and hard to guess passwords, setting up multi-factor authentication is another best way to protect your private details and information. Almost all online services providers, mobile apps and email providers allow you to turn multifactor authentication on so no one can access your account or personal details.
Limit What You Share Online
One shouldn’t share too much personal information online. Avoid sharing your locations, pictures, check-ins, mobile number and addresses on social media sites. Cybercriminals can use these things to hack into your profiles and other sensitive details. Keep personal information to a minimum and avoid sharing your personal details with anonymous people online you don’t know personally.
A Strong Password Strategy
Reusing old passwords seem convenient when creating an online account or new email ID. This will leave your vulnerable if the site data is compromised by hackers and they may also hack into your other accounts with the same login credentials. That’s why, you should have a strong password strategy. Always create a fresh and strong password for a new account you create online. Use of online password managers is also a great way to generate strong passwords and keep them at a safe and protected place. As a result, you can quickly log into your online accounts without remembering all of your passwords.
