10 Tips To Improve Your Internet Security

Secure your Personal Informations

If '00000000', ‘password’, ‘123456’, 'admin', 'your name' or ‘letmein’ is your password of choice, you could do with a few lessons in internet security.

A Russian crime gang has managed to amass 1.2 billion stolen internet credentials of unsuspecting individuals and businesses, collected from a number of high-profile hacks including the Adobe breach last year, according to The New York Times.

The incident has prompted experts to call on Australians to change their passwords and update their internet security measures, and fortunately there are some simple ways to sharpen your defences against hackers. Below are some simple ways to protect your login details from being Hacked

1. Guerrilla psychology

Don't be fooled into thinking cyber crime is a technical problem with a purely technical solution. A firewall and antivirus software can protect your computer, but they won't keep you and your identity safe.

Social engineering is the black art of influencing people, and it's the hacker's best friend. In essence, hackers can control us thanks to a refined understanding of human characteristics such as trust, ignorance, greed, the need to be liked, the desire to help and plain old gullibility. Not even the most sophisticated software can hope to protect us from ourselves.

In order to stay safe, educate yourself about social engineering. Take a trip to theSymantec websitefor a brilliant briefing on the subject. If you get keen, check out The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick.

2. Be wary of untrusted networks

Never use an untrusted network, because this can leave devices vulnerable to attacks. “The classic scenario is going to a local cafe, thinking you’re connecting to their network, but in fact if could be a rogue network. For people travelling I always recommend holding off on the next online purchase until they’re back home,”.

3. Secure your email account

We recommend to use two-step verification processes to secure email accounts. This is when websites want to use your phone number, a code they send you by SMS or another secondary means of ensuring you are you before login.

4. Use secure websites

Always check that Sites are using an encrypted connection, especially for emails, banking and online payments. That's signified by the prefix "https", rather than "http" before the site's URL ("s" is for secure and shows the site has an encrypted connection to you, ensuring data can't be sniffed in transit). A padlock symbol on the top or bottom of the screen is also a good sign. “One thing we recommended is bookmarking your internet banking URL [address]. This will be a secure browser and it’s safer than accessing the banking website through a non-secure site.”

5. Use fake details

Use fake birth dates and details on websites so if hackers do steal them, they'll have a harder time using, or selling, your true credentials. “This is a contentious point, but if it’s not a legal site or something you’re bound to, and the website doesn’t have a clear reason for asking you certain pieces of private information, don’t feel obligated to provide it,” he said.

6. Avoid being a mule

Working from home, earn $1000 a week commission. It sounds to good to be true, and it is. Scammers pass stolen cash to unsuspecting people, who transfer it back to the thieves via electronic payment. Your job with the work taken out is money laundering. Beware.

7. Split your emails

Rather than linking Facebook, Twitter, newsgroups, forums, shopping and banking sites to one email address, use multiple addresses.
As a minimum, use one for social activities and one for financial business.Your social address will rightly draw more attention than your business one – that's the way you want it to be. If the former is hacked, it won't be as nightmarish as losing control of your financial address.

8. Be wary of Facebook

There are two key areas of social networking security – the technical sphere and the human one. Technical security is about setting up your profile correctly – your favourite site will explain how, so follow its guides. Next is the human aspect of security and our old friend, social engineering.

No quantity of settings and check boxes can prevent a user from willingly complying with the bad guys,and this is what they depend on. There's one simple rule to follow here:don't do or say anything online that you wouldn't do or say in real life.

9. Always check reviews of site

If your are going to use a new Earning site like Survey, Ptc and other sites check the reviews and reputation of site to avoid any loss of your personal informations, check weather is it Legit or Scam ?.

10. Take care on public networks

Never, under any circumstances, use a public network for financial transactions. Only send your personaland financial details over a network you've set up yourself, or one you know to be secure. Who knows what horrors are lurking on the hard disk of that internet cafe machine, or somewhere between it and its internet access point?

Hackers have also been known to set up laptops to broadcast networks withnames such as 'Free Internet Access' in hotels. They'll let you pass internet traffic through them and harvest any juicy details as you type.