Keeping your personal information safe and private is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself against cybercrime. Unfortunately, the ways in which technology has improved our lives have also made us more vulnerable to various types of cybercrimes. While many people are aware that they need to take precautions when using the internet, they might not know exactly how or where to start in terms of protecting themselves from cybercriminals, hackers, or spammers.
However, there are a number of steps that you can take as an individual to reduce your risk of falling victim to such crimes. With these tips, you can protect yourself against cybercrime and help avoid falling prey to nefarious individuals who may attempt to steal your data. Read on for more information about how you can protect yourself against cybercrime:
Change your passwords regularly
One of the easiest ways to protect yourself against cybercrime is to change your passwords regularly. This will minimize the damage that could be caused if a hacker were to breach your account and steal your passwords. It’s a good idea to change your passwords for all of your accounts on a regular basis, such as once every month or two. However, there are some websites that require you to change your password more often than that, and you should abide by their policies. Be sure to change your passwords for the following accounts at least once every three months: Your email account Your online banking account Your online shopping account Your phone account Any other online account that stores sensitive information.
Install an ad-blocker
Ad-blocking software can prevent certain types of cybercrime, such as spam and pop-up ads. It can also protect you from malware and viruses by blocking suspicious content from ever reaching your device. Pop-up ads are annoying and have been used to distribute malware, collect private information like your IP address, or redirect you to malicious websites as a way of tricking you into clicking on them. Some ads also contain illegal products or services such as fake IDs or counterfeit goods.
Ad-blocking software can prevent these things from happening by stopping pop-ups and malicious ads from reaching your computer or mobile device. Some ad blockers are free to download and use, while others charge a monthly fee. If you don’t protect yourself with an ad-blocker, it is possible that someone could hack your computer or device through an ad that you click on or a malicious link that you click on.
Use a VPN
VPN stands for the virtual private network. Essentially, this is a service that you can use to encrypt your data and digitally change your IP address to hide your true location. Using a VPN to protect yourself against cybercrime such as hacking, spam, and malware is particularly important when you’re using public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi is never secure, which makes your information—including passwords, emails, and credit card details—vulnerable to hacking and other forms of cybercrime. To protect yourself when using public Wi-Fi, you can use a VPN to encrypt your data and change your IP address so that no one can track your location or steal your information. While any VPN will protect you to some degree, not all of them are created equal.
You’ll want to make sure that the VPN you choose has strong, military-grade encryption and offers a decent level of server coverage so that you can access the internet from anywhere in the world. You should also look for a VPN that doesn’t log your data. This will help keep you safe from hackers and law enforcement, as they won’t be able to access your data if they attempt to subpoena or seize the VPN’s servers.
Don’t click on unknown links or emails
Cybercriminals often send out phishing emails, which appear to be legitimate messages sent by companies or government agencies in an attempt to trick you into giving away your personal information. If you receive an email from a government agency but it seems fishy, you can contact the agency directly to verify that it sent the message. If you receive an email from a company and you’re not sure if it’s legitimate, don’t click on any links in the message, and don’t provide your personal information.
Instead of clicking on links, open the company’s website in a new browser tab and navigate to the page yourself. Similarly, if you receive a text message from your bank, credit card company, or other service provider asking you to verify or provide your account information, don’t do it. Instead, call the company directly using the number listed in your phone book or on your account statement and ask them whether they sent you the text. If they did, they’ll be able to tell you what the issue is and how to fix it.
Don’t store sensitive information on your phone
As you use your phone every day, you may be tempted to store sensitive information like passwords, account numbers, health records, or other private details on your device. But you shouldn’t do this, as your phone could get hacked and the information could fall into the wrong hands. You should always store sensitive information in a password-protected digital storage device like a USB thumb drive and keep it separate from your phone. You should also be cautious about downloading apps from third-party sites, as some of these may be designed to steal your private information.
Protect the devices that you use most frequently
If you own a laptop or computer, you’ll want to make sure that you’re protecting it against viruses, malware, and other cyber threats. You can do this by installing an antivirus program, updating your computer’s operating system regularly, and using a firewall as an added layer of protection. You should also think about using a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt data and change IP addresses. If you own a smartphone, you need to protect that device too. You can do this by downloading a trusted mobile security app and setting up a passcode to keep unwanted people out.
You can also protect your smartphone by limiting the amount of personal information that you store on it. You should never keep sensitive information like your Social Security number or credit card details on your phone. Instead, store this information on your computer or on a password-protected digital storage device.
