With increasing internet users, cybercrime is a bigger threat than ever. With the development of technology, we have managed to get everyone on the internet, but many still lack the basic knowledge of staying safe on the internet. These are the people who become the victims of cybercrime. Losing money and identity thefts are common nowadays. If you are not careful while browsing the internet, you may fail to protect yourself against such crimes. Here are 5 tips you should keep in mind to stay safe against Cybercrime.
Stay Away from Lucrative Online Offers
“Buy a $10 chocolate and get a 5 BHK apartment”. Sounds too good to be true, right? It does. What about this one – “I make $40,000 every day just by working 4 hours from home”. If you’ve been on the internet for a while, you must have seen these comments on various pages. In the worst-case scenario, you may even receive emails with such subjects. These are downright fake. Earning a huge amount of money by working just a few hours every day does seem enticing, but it doesn’t happen. There’s no such thing as easy money on the internet. If you ever come across some offer that seems too good to be true, do not touch it with a ten-foot pole. Stay away from such scams.
Keep Your Antivirus Updated
It’s not uncommon to download a movie and get a virus instead. There are a lot of ways someone can take control of your computer and blackmail you for money. If you do not give in, they threaten you by leaking or deleting important documents. This is called ransomware. While being smart on the internet is the best solution, having an updated antivirus could help.
Avoid Monetary Transactions on Public Computer
Sending and requesting money has become as easy as ever, thanks to the internet. But, avoid doing so on a computer or Wi-Fi connection that isn’t yours. You never know if the computer you are using may have a keylogger installed. It can save all your keystrokes and get your bank account password and username.
While we are talking about passwords – do not store important information like credit card numbers, passwords, etc. on websites. Every time you enter the password on a website, you must get a popup to save the password so that you don’t have to enter it the next time you try to log in. Do not save it. As this information is stored in your web browser, it can be easily stolen.
Keep Changing Your Password Frequently
This is just a healthy habit to stay safe. Keep changing your password frequently. I change mine every 30 days. One more thing, do not use a single password for all your accounts because if one of your accounts gets hacked, the hacker will gain access to all your accounts.
Enable Two-factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication is probably the best form of security right now. What this means is that to log into your account you’ll require a unique code, which is different from your password. This code can be received in the form of text or by using an authentication app. If you enable 2FA, it will become extremely difficult for someone else to log into your account.
Almost all websites support 2FA these days. Just play around in the security settings of a website. If you still can’t find it, talk to the support team.
