As the security measures are improving, the hackers are getting more sophisticated too. With the security updates, we keep listening to the new waves of hacking. That is why it is important to stay vigilant about what you are doing in your online space and how secure is it? Read this blog till the end to know the tips to avoid hackers.
Our biggest problem and hackers’ advantage is the time! We tend to do things in a hurry and they take full benefit of it. How? You will get to know after reading this blog.
Ways To Protect Important Data From Getting Hacked
1) Enable Child Lock Or Make Another Profile For Kids
These days you can not restrict your kids to not using computers or laptops. Electronic gadgets have become too handy for them. At the same time, it is near to impossible to always track what your kids are doing on the device. They can either click a phishing link or download a malicious file.
If you are having kids in the house, you should put a child lock or make another profile for them on the device. This way, your data will remain safe and your device protected from hackers.
2) Put Hard-To-Guess Password
It is quite common yet often gets neglected. We tend to put that simple, easy-to-guess password every time. Come on! With increasing technology, upgrade your passwords too. Those online accounts have so much of yours; bank details, card number, previous transactions, house address, etc. We are sure you will not like all this to get into the wrong hands.
Use different yet hard passwords for all accounts. Your password should be at least 8 characters including:
- Symbols
- Numbers
- Alphabets
Also, if you are adding a hint for a password, it should be too easy to guess for a hacker. Remember, the hacker could be known too, so do not share your passwords with anyone.
3) Allow Multi-Factor Authentication
The name is quite self-explanatory. You put multiple layers of protection to log in to a portal.
After putting in too hard passwords, people complain about getting hacked many times. That is why the multi-factor authentication’s concept got developed.
The first layer remains the same – password. After putting the correct password, you are often asked to authenticate with a fingerprint or an OTP that will be sent to your registered email ID or phone number.
This gives an additional layer of security to all your accounts to prevent hacking. Also, in the OTP message, it is written that if you are not the one who’s trying to log in then you can raise the complaint by clicking on the link. If this happens, you can click on the given link and block the IP address or user.
4) Beware Of Phishing Attacks
Every 39 seconds, a hacker attempts an attack. That means you could be the target in the next 39 seconds. So you have to be alert and updated on the tricks that hackers use.
Make a habit of not clicking on the link instantly. As a human whenever we see a link we tend to open it without giving a second thought which is our biggest mistake. You can avoid this by changing your habits a bit. Like, do not open any mail or message in a hurry. No matter how much you trust the other person, you never know that person might have received the link from someone else whom you may not trust.
If you have got a call to respond on the link and you are driving. Ask the person to wait until you reach the destination. Open the message with a relaxed mind and then decide whether to open the link or not. Because that one tap could give a lot of information to the hacker you will not like or may be unable to afford.
5) Encrypt All Data
Another way to protect your data from getting hacked is encryption. The concept of encryption came when online messaging apps rolled into the market. People were in doubt if their personal or confidential information was safe or not. So companies developed encryption that ensures the data is safely transferred between the two parties and the companies can not decode that data.
Similarly, you can encrypt your data to prevent it from getting hacked.
Steps To Encrypt A File:
- Choose the file to encrypt, right-click on it
- Select Properties
- Further, select the Advanced button at the bottom.
- Check the option next to Encrypt content to secure data
- Press OK, close the Advanced Attribute Windows
- Press Apply.
- You are done!
6) Use Antivirus Software
No doubt you will do every bit from your side to protect your data but technological help will bring more confidence in you that your data is safe and secure.
Antivirus software will keep running the automatic scans every 24 hours to check for viruses. Moreover, it generally has a child lock. When enabled, it will be monitoring the activities more cautiously. Such software is useful while browsing too. It scans each downloading file first then permits to download it.
There are paid and non-paid antivirus software available in the market. You can choose the one according to your requirements.
In The End
The tips discussed above are the easiest ways to prevent hacking. If you are aware of increasing hacking attacks in the world (20 million breaches recorded in March’21). Then probably you know how important it is to protect yourselves from hackers. Make sure you do not hand over the devices to kids without child locks. Do not create easy passwords, use multi-factor authentication and beware of phishing attacks and use anti-virus software. For more information, keep visiting our website.