What company has had to pay over $15 million because of hackers?
Sony PlayStation.
The compensation went to gamers who had private information stolen directly from Sony’s servers. It’s scary to think that something as simple as playing video games could open you up to problems like identity theft. However, when you’re dealing with the online world, dangers are lurking in every corner.
The good news is that you don’t have to be afraid to use the internet. Instead, you just have to learn about the best cybersecurity tips and stay on top of them at all times!
Whether you’re a company looking to avoid vulnerability or an individual who wants to browse safely online, this article’s for you! What are the best cybersecurity practices? Read on to find out.
- Preventing Cyber Attacks With Fresh Passwords
First on our list of cybersecurity tips is a reminder to update your passwords. Chances are, the passwords you’re using now aren’t hacker-proof.
Perhaps you’re using words that are easy for you to remember or relate to your personality in some way. However, if a password is easy for you to remember, it’ll probably be easy for a hacker to crack.
Instead of using common words, we suggest using a variety of shortcodes and acronyms. That way, your password is both easy to remember, and hard to crack!
What type of phrases and acronyms should you use? There are so many choices! You could use Bible scriptures or even famous movie quotes. The option is yours.
For instance, a Shakespeare fan could create a password around the phrase, “to be or not to be….”. The password phrase might look something like this: 2borNot2b
At the end of the day, it’s really about how creative you’re willing to get. Try using a variety of emoticons, along with commonly allowed symbols. You’ll be able to create all sorts of emoticon faces that can then be embedded into your password.
- Staying Safe Online With a VPN
Moving on, you can also beef up your cybersecurity practices by investing in a quality VPN. You’ve probably heard the term VPN before, but what exactly is it?
VPN stands for virtual private network, and it’s a powerful way to upgrade your browsing experience. Instead of giving away valuable, personal data, you’ll be able to secure your online activity.
Another advantage of a VPN is that you’ll be able to access sites more freely. If there’s content that’s restricted for any reason, your VPN can help you sneak in anyways. Take, for example, Netflix.
Different countries have different restrictions regarding what Netflix content is available. By using a VPN, you could get content that otherwise might be restricted (without jeopardizing your online safety).
To get the best benefits, you’ll need to find a VPN that uses the proper protocols. The best VPN protocols will offer top levels of protection, speed, and compatibility for most devices. Compatibility is a big deal since this is how you’ll be able to operate your VPN across your phone, laptop, tablet, and more.
- Recognize Phishing Scams
The next step towards preventing hackers is learning how to recognize phishing scams. Phishing is a technique that hackers use to steal your personal information. Perhaps they want to get your full name and address, or maybe they’re looking for your date of birth too.
Once they have your information, the hackers can reset login information for all of your accounts. After adjusting the user credentials, the hackers can install malware and steal your most sensitive data.
One of the most common types of phishing scams involves fraudulent emails. You’ll receive an email that looks like it’s from someone who knows you, but it’s really a hacker.
The email will request that you submit your personal information to resolve some sort of problem. But it’s all just a big con to stealing your information.
How can you avoid becoming a victim? First, understand that legitimate companies will never request sensitive information through email.
If you’re getting an unsolicited email from a company asking you to divulge personal details, it’s a scam. Another giveaway is the domain of the email. Don’t just look at the person who is sending you the email. Instead, hover over their email address, and notice what the domain of the email looks like.
Next, for the best protection, you’ll want to learn how to encrypt emails moving forward. Visiting sites like, https://setapp.com/how-to/encrypt-emails can help you get an idea of what encryption is all about.
- Click Carefully
Moving on, another email scam to be aware of is malicious attachments. Unsolicited emails that come with attachments are almost always bad news. A hacker can embed malware in a simple word document, and all you have to do is click on it for the problems to begin.
Practice being a careful clicker, no matter what it is you’re doing online. Instead of clicking on an ad that pops up, look for a way to block it.
Cyber crime is now a huge problem, I’ve seen quite a few companies needing a cyber crime lawyer recently and the best one seems to be https://www.
Sometimes ads can be malicious too, and they might try to steal your personal data! We suggest downloading a free ad blocker to keep bad links away.
Another way to stay safe is by practicing the hovering method. When you see a link that you want to click on, hover over it with your mouse. Simply hovering over the link will reveal its URL. The URL is the site that the tempting link is actually going to take you to.
So before you click on “5 great ways to stay in shape”, hover over the link first. You might find that the URL will lead you to a pyramid scheme website or expensive gym membership that you’re not interested in.
Implementing Cybersecurity Tips
Out of all the cybersecurity tips in this article, which ones are you currently practicing? Paying attention to your email habits is a great place to start.
Remember to avoid giving out personal information, especially when it’s an unsolicited email.
In other words, an email you weren’t expecting. However, on top of deleting dangerous emails, you also have to be keeping your passwords crispy fresh!
Make it a point to update all of your passwords today, so you can have the peace of mind you deserve. For more advice, look at the rest of this site.
