It is pretty commonplace these days for the vast majority of us to use the internet every day, whether that is for work or leisure – we rely so heavily on it. But the fact that the internet is so widely available and widely used doesn’t necessarily mean it’s used right or people totally understand how it should be utilised.
With that in mind, there are lots of simple things you can do to ensure that you are optimising your safety online, once you get into the habit of doing so, you’ll wonder how remarkably lucky you have been by being unscathed without doing so.
Luckily, there are loads of ways to stay safe online. To support you with this, we’ve collated some of our favourite pieces of advice which are applicable to both adults as well as teenagers.
Ensure personal information is private
With regard to personal information online, think about dispensing it in the same way you would as dispensing it in real life. For example, it’s highly unlikely that you would just give information such as your home address or bank details to any random person, so think about the same in relation to doing so online. Use your common sense and only provide information to official sources and as and when you feel comfortable and assured doing so. The very last thing you want is millions of people having access to your sensitive information online.
Keep your privacy settings turned on
Hackers like to know as much information about you as possible. This allows them to learn lots about you and your browsing habits. It’s really important that you take charge of these hackers and your information. Both web browsers and mobile operating systems have settings that help you to protect your privacy online. Huge websites such as Facebook also use privacy-enhancing settings. These settings are often tricky to find because companies want your personal information for its marketing value. Be sure you have enabled these privacy safeguard settings, and ensure that they stay enabled.
Carry out safe browsing
Think of it this way, you wouldn’t purposely put yourself in danger in real life so don’t do it online. Cybercrime is going to be extremely likely on the web in the form of glaring content. We all have moments when our guard is slightly down and you are likely to be drawn in by suspicious online advertisements or websites.
This is how cybercriminals work, what’s more, the web is packed with hard-to-see traps such as this, in this instance, one mindless click could expose personal data or infect your computer with dangerous and harmful malware. By simply being cautious, you are not going to give the hackers a chance to cause harm.
Ensure you can a secure connection
When you use the internet in a public space, for example, a cafe or a shop by using a public Wi-Fi connection, you will not have any control over the security of the network.
Any cybersecurity expert will tell you about endpoints, this refers to the spaces where a private network links to the outside world. Your vulnerable endpoint is your local Internet connection. You need to make sure that your network is secure, if you do have concerns regarding this, it’s advisable that you wait until you can use a secure Wi-Fi connection.
Be mindful about what you download
One of the many priorities for hackers is to fool you into downloading harmful malware in the form of apps or other things which may be used to steal your personal information. Malware can be disguised in so many forms within apps. For example, a brightly coloured game that children will be drawn to, to a simple news app. Don’t attempt to download an app that falls outside of the official app store on your smartphone.
Select strong passwords
It may come as no surprise that passwords are a huge weak spot in terms of cybersecurity. The main issue relating to passwords is that people often pick nice and simple ones so they can remember them. By picking a good password – you will be making it more complex for cybercriminals to hack into your online accounts and target you. A strong password should be unique and complex, so at least 15 characters long, mixing letters, numbers and special characters.
Get a VPN and use it
Whenever you use a Wi-Fi network that you are unfamiliar with, you need to use a virtual private network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure connection on the Internet between a user and the data or websites that they are attempting to use. Consider the fact if you go to a public space and connect to a free Wi-Fi network, you are not going to know anything about the security of the connection. It’s possible that someone may be using that network, without you being aware. There is going to be a possibility that they could start going through or taking the files and data sent from your computer or mobile.
Use Anti Spam Software
While email is necessary for any corporate operations, it can also expose your company to a myriad of potential risks. This is because it offers virus, spyware, ransomware, cryptolocker, trojan and other harmful programs easy access to your business computers for phishing or extortion attack. This is where MailCleaner can help by stopping malware before it even reaches your employees’ inboxes. Its spam filter server ensures that more than 99% of unwanted messages are blocked, analysing each message, so you only receive those that are important. If a harmful file is detected, MailCleaner will automatically send it to a quarantined zone where it cannot cause any more damage in the future.
Here at MailCleaner, our aim as a business is to ensure you are protected against viruses and spam. We are proud to offer a range of packages suitable for small companies as well as large corporations. Our spam filtering service is easily configured by changing your DNS with your online internet provider. After this, all mail will then be filtered through our effective hosted servers which send all unwanted messages and viruses to the online quarantine folder. MailCleaner is also perfect for any ISP as it works over a variety of domains with different spam filtering rules.
Each server gateway can also handle large volumes of traffic plus the software is easily installed in less than fifteen minutes! MailCleaner is also the best antispam gateway for O365 because it allows you to simply monitor your traffic, but also to manage your newsletter permissions. Our anti-spam gateway works between your mail infrastructure and the Internet. It offers professional protection against viruses and eliminates up to 99% of spam. To find out more about what we can do for you, please contact us today. We’d be delighted to help with any enquiries you may have.