by Jamersons | Feb 1, 2020 | Cybercrime, Internet
Account
breaches involve a security incident in
which sensitive, protected or confidential data is copied, transmitted, viewed,
stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Data breaches may involve exposure of
passwords and financial information, such as credit card and bank details.
If you have an account with an online company that’s been affected by a recent security breach, find out what information the cyber criminals accessed and change your password immediately. You can also use a website like ‘Have I Been Pwned,’ which will check whether your email addresses have been compromised.
2018 was a good year for hackers. They were able to expose 29 million Facebook passwords and 150 million Under Armour user accounts.
by Jamersons | Feb 1, 2020 | Cybercrime, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is
one entry-point hackers can use to get into your network without setting foot
inside your building. A small
vulnerability in your Wi-Fi network can give a criminal access to almost all
the devices that access that Wi-Fi. This could spell trouble for bank accounts,
credit card details, child safety, and a whole lot of other concerns.
Your Wi-Fi should utilise a complex password. A VPN (virtual private network) can also make you more secure online. A VPN will encrypt all traffic leaving your computer until it arrives at its destination. If cyber criminals hack your connection, they won’t intercept anything but encrypted data.
by Jamersons | Feb 1, 2020 | Cybercrime, Social Media
Cyber criminals can obtain personal data from your social media pages. For example, if you post your pet’s name or reveal your mother’s maiden name on Facebook, you could expose the answers to two common security questions.
Not all social media privacy threats come from strangers. Sometimes, people in your life turn out to be less than friendly. Online stalking and cyber-bullying have become very well-known threats, and social media makes them easy to perpetrate.
What you post online stays online. Think carefully before posting pictures you wouldn’t want your parents or employers to see. Privacy settings can be tailored to suit on most major social media platforms.
by Jamersons | Jan 30, 2020 | Cybercrime, Software
This is important with operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS. Cyber criminals frequently exploit vulnerabilities and flaws in software to gain access to computers.
A software vulnerability is usually a security hole or weakness found in an operating system or software program. Hackers exploit this weakness by writing code to target a specific vulnerability, which is packaged into malware. These exploits can infect your computer with no action on your part other than viewing a website, opening a compromised message, or playing infected media. Patching these exploits and vulnerabilities can reduce the chances of becoming a victim of cyber crime.
by Jamersons | Jan 30, 2020 | Cybercrime, Passwords
Passwords
were a good idea in the early days of computing, when we only had to remember a
few passwords. However, passwords don’t work as well in the Internet era, when
we have dozens of separate online accounts.
People
cope with the sheer number of passwords they have in several ways.
Unfortunately, the most common approach is to reuse passwords, which is risky as
the loss of one password for one account might result into the loss of multiple
accounts.
Don’t reuse passwords and change your passwords regularly. Make them complex. That means using a combination of at least a dozen letters, numbers, and symbols. A password management application, such as Dashlane, can store these complex passwords, so you don’t need to worry about remembering them.
by Jamersons | Jan 29, 2020 | Cybercrime, Security Software
With
all that money being transferred over the internet it’s no surprise that
criminals are out to steal peoples data and personal information. A good piece
of security software will provide real-time protection against existing and
emerging malware, as well as ransomware and viruses. It can also protect your
financial information when you go online.
Security software frequently comes with parental controls – tools that allow you to limit what your children can access online. This filters out age inappropriate content and safeguards your children from harmful material on the internet.
