Cyber Safety: The Risk That Everyone Ignores

There is a lot of talk going around about cyber safety, but not enough people are listening. Cyber crime is growing fast every year and it will not be long until it comes knocking on your door.

To stay safe, we all need to be educated.

Tips For using Cyber Safety To Protect Yourself

We have all heard the saying “prevention is better than cure” and in this case it is so true. A few simple steps can improve your cyber safety and make hackers think that hacking you is just too much trouble.

Here are a few steps you can take:

1. Make sure your computer’s firewall is enabled. Computer hackers are out there scanning constantly for unprotected computers and if you have a firewall enabled you are not the easy target they hoped for. They are actually looking for vulnerabilities and having your firewall enabled might help your computer slide under their radar.
2. Use network security. Yes everyone needs to improve network security and that includes people using the internet in a private home. It is not that hard if you can follow some easy step by step instructions and can be protect from cyber snoopers within minutes.
3. Install anti-virus software and keep it updated. Some people get away with using a free antivirus software while other definitely won’t. The reason is that people use the internet for different purposes. for example one person might only connect to the internet to read emails while another might be downloading illegal software or visiting unknown websites.
4. Beware of downloading. Often computer users presume that when downloading is mentioned, it always means an illegal program. This is not the case. Malware, spyware, and viruses can be in anything you download, even free stuff. You know those harmless themes for your computer or screensavers, many have been known to contain malicious software that users are not aware of.
5. Email security. do you know who’s emails you are opening and if you do, where did they get the content they are sharing? Is it really worth the trouble to open an email or click on a link you are not sure of? People need to think twice or three times before taking action with an email.
6. Look closer to home. If you work in an office you might have competitive co-workers that want your job. They could be looking for any chance for you to slip up and this is why you always need to guard your information. Do not leave your computer when it is logged and please do not trust everyone. Many instances of hacking are done by someone you know.
7. Create the best passwords possible. Forget about creating passwords you can remember because that is just to easy. You need to make up strong passwords to protect your accounts and logins both online and offline. Just think about this, a password is the key to your door. When hackers come knocking and can find your key easily then can enter your door without any obvious damage.

The Consequences of Poor Cyber Security

The reason people are not educated about cyber safety is because they are not aware of the consequences of neglect. You hear many stories about what has happened to other people, but unless they are close to you, the story could be hype for all you know. Let me tell you that cyber security is not hype and is very serious, even for the home user.

Here are a few consequences of poor cyber security:

1. A malfunctioning computer that could end up costing you money to repair or even to recover data.
2. Your computer might become slow and sluggish because you have downloaded a virus from a trusted friends email attachment.
3. A hacker might steal your personal information and then steal your entire identity. This is very common. The hacker can rack up thousands of dollars in debt before you even realize something is wrong.
4. You might be hauled away by the police for downloading child pornography when it is really a virus that will let hackers use it as a child pornography server.
5. You could get copyright violation notices from your ISP for downloading illegal software of movies when it is not really you at all.
6. Someone might get your login information for Facebook and post disgusting things on your status. This is not always a stranger either!
7. You might attract a personal stalker if you share too much information on the internet.
8. You could costs your friends and family money in computer repairs when you open an email with a virus and it also sends this virus to everyone in your contact list.

Cyber safety would not even be an issue if every computer user was educated in this area and the only way to keep safe in today’s cyber world is to know the risks and learn to avoid them.

Read more:

• The Truth About How Spyware Affects You
• Best Spy Apps