Staying Safe Online: Knowledge is Power

The world of online computing has never been so full of opportunity. We can do everything “in the cloud” these days: play games, keep in touch with friends and relatives, watch movies, shop for groceries, pay bills, prepare our taxes… all from the comfort of our living room sofa. Of course, there are also some things we can do online that are far less appealing. For instance, we can have our email accounts hijacked, see our reputations smeared right in front of our eyes and even lose our very identities.

On top of all that, it seems like every week we are scrambling to make sure our credit cards are secure after hearing about yet another large retailer that has had their customer data compromised. So, how can we enjoy all the benefits and convenience the online world has to offer while keeping our data and accounts safely out of the clutches of grasping greedy hackers who don’t care how much heartache or chaos they leave in their wake as they plow through the lives of innocent web surfers? 

This article is the first in a series where I will be sharing some basic steps for staying safe online. If you think you are immune from cyber-crime, you might want to think again. Take a look at this eye-opening Infographic by GO-Gulf

There are things we all need to be doing to protect ourselves as much as possible as well as to make it easier to recover in the event there is an unexpected problem. It isn’t enough to simply “hope” nothing goes wrong. It’s important to take action now so we can avoid regret later.

So, what are some of these actions? In upcoming articles I’ll be talking about each of these in more detail.

• Use strong unique passwords for every single account you have
• Scan your computer regularly for malicious programs such as spyware and keyloggers
• Learn how to spot social engineering scams
• Protect your data from loss and theft

Have you ever been “hacked” online? You are not alone. What steps have you taken to prevent the same thing from happening again? I’d love to hear from you. please leave a comment below and let me know your experiences, or post your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Until next time, stay safe!