Cybersecurity is one of the biggest concerns of big institutions around the world as the need for executing transactions at the speed of thought increase reliance on technology. This problem concerns you too because the chances of having your finances jeopardized are significant even if you do not realise it.
We live in a period people readily volunteer sensitive information on social platforms like Twitter while other platforms like Facebook have intelligence that can collect or access critical data on people.
A hacker does not need to try too hard to get people to drop their bank account details on online public platforms; they only have to create threads promising giveaways and many social-media users fall prey.
These tips can help reduce your risk of becoming a cyber-attack victim.
Use Strong Passwords you change regularly
It is almost an invitation to be hacked using passwords like 0000, 1234, abcd, or your names and date of births or that of your family, spouse or pet.
Using a minimum of eight characters including symbols like &,@,# in a non-repetitive sequence can generate a very strong lock for your online accounts.
Read also: Why companies are forming cybersecurity alliances
Your password must never be saved in any medium so it does not fall into the wrong hands.
Also, do not use the same password for all your online accounts; vary them even if slightly and do not allow your devices to remember the passwords if other people to borrow your gadgets.
Experts also advise you update your password(s) often. Some say 30 days is the ideal cycle for changing passwords.
Update your antivirus software regularly
An antivirus software protects your devices from malicious attacks, but they have to be updated regularly to ensure their defence mechanism is solid.
We often dislike these softwares and procrastinate updating them because that action might require us halting a project-or a movie to restart our devices (especially computer systems).
To counter this, you should set the system to update automatically at nights or whenever you would typically not be using it.
Avoid click baits, no free lunch in Freetown
By nature, humans like freebies and fall easily to scams when there is a promise of a reward for doing virtually nothing.
How often do you see “$100,000 up for grabs, click me” pop-ups when you browse? Those little boxes are baits with mischievous people at the other end waiting to access information on your devices through “backdoors” they create.
You can use browsers that block adverts to reduce your chances of encountering these malicious pop-ups. It is worth mentioning that not all pop-ups are bad but it is better to err on the side of caution.
Do not open strange mails
Hackers can attempt stealing information from people through emails that contain viruses.
Greeks tell of their cunning in defeating the city of Troy through a wooden horse. After unsuccessfully trying to break into the independent city of Troy for a decade, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse and hid some of their men inside.
The Trojans took the horse into their city as a symbol of their victory, a mistake that gave the Greek army access into Troy.
The lesson of that story remains till date and a type of virus is even named after the ancient city of Troy.
Even if history is not your thing you should get the gist and delete that spam mail (a type of mail from an unknown source, sent to many people) without opening it.
