How Do You Stay Safe While Online?

Last Wednesday, Twitter fell victim to an attack by hackers. Certain unscrupulous individuals gained access to Twitter accounts of prominent figures and companies that included Bill Gates, Barrack Obama, Apple and Uber. Through social engineering that targeted Twitter employees, hackers managed to access the company’s admin panel.

Though the victims of said attack were not at fault for the breach, practicing certain habits online can reduce the chances of you falling prey to scams that include phishing emails. Here’s what you can do to have a safer internet experience:

Use Complicated, But Unique Passwords For Each Website
Using a random and unfamiliar password, can throw off the hackers from gaining access to your accounts. Many cyber criminals use clever algorithms to guess passwords or circumvent a website’s security protocol. Having a convoluted password with unfamiliar words, numbers and special characters, will give you a fighting chance of protecting your passwords from them.

Change Your Passwords Frequently
Usually, people use some type of keyring software to keep track of their passwords. This way, they only need to remember a few passwords rather than the entire list. I’ve never been a fan of such 3rd party software, but the most effective way to keep your accounts safe, is by changing your passwords as frequently as possible.

Use Protected Browsers
Internet browsers can play a roll in keeping your online credentials safe from prying eyes. Though most mainstream browsers have built in privacy features, some are just better at this, than the others.

If online anonymity is what you seek, then use something like the Thor browser. Its uses a sophisticated number of network nodes to keep your browsing data safe. The Brave Browser is another example that tries to shield your data from online marketeers.

Clear The Cache
Make it habit to clear your browser cache atleast once a week. This way, there’s no chance of lingering cookies or other tracking data falling into the wrong hands and compromising your online accounts.

Beware Of Phishing Emails
Never reveal personal information that include banking login details, over emails. Such details should only be revealed in person or via banking apps, preferably with two-factor authentication enabled.