As much as personal identity theft is on the rise, there are also many businesses that fall foul of the same sorts of attacks. These are also on the rise as there are many business security solutions in place that are not up to date or protecting these businesses as much as they think.
How Do Hackers Do it?
Some hackers use scripts which are designed to scan already breached emails, passwords, and usernames. These credentials they then use on more favorable websites to see if they come up with a match. These checker scripts are continually updated and passed around the hacker underground.
From this Malware rears its ugly head and is designed to infect your system with software that records what you type or to search through your system for valuable information. This information if found is relayed back to the hacker who then has access to whatever accounts you have logged into.
Phishing emails are still one of the leading threats. These are identical to the company whom you might have visited and ask you to give details. As they are near identical to what the company sends, many people still reply or even click the link to unsubscribe from the service.
This shows the hacker that the IP address is valid and it has done half of the work for them already.
How to Stay Safe
For individuals or for businesses who have to keep customers online information safe there are a few things you can do apart from being extra vigilant for suspicious activity.
Passwords
A password should be created for each account that you log into, they should also vary from each other without any common variations.
The same goes for businesses as you might have workers on the road who have to log in to a system at your headquarters. If this is difficult, you can make use of an encrypted password manager that takes all of the worries out of protecting your various passwords and also when it comes to using them.
Antivirus and Malware
Although it is still possible to get a virus, this is not the severest of threats you are now faced with. Malware is on the rise and as we have seen lets hackers compromise your system and data in many ways.
The more current antimalware packages are designed to combat all of these threats from entering onto your system before they have a chance to infect you. They can even build on the security that is built into more modern email clients to prevent phishing scams from entering into your email box.
Browsers also do an excellent job of identifying suspicious sites as they are color coded. Legitimate sites have green to identify they are legitimate and red zones in the address bar recognizes that the site might be suspicious.
Browser extensions can also be used which block both adverts and pop-ups where many suspect pages appear.
Securing Your Connection
Although public WI-FI hotspots are prone to having hackers sniffing around, any connection can be compromised. To ensure your data is hidden from view and protected you make full use of a VPN Client which can encrypt and hide your connection in these public areas. If you have a business and have workers on the road, this can be the safest way of protecting your company and customer information. Your data is protected by the same methods banks use for their connections.
A VPN service for business can save many thousands of dollars and countless hours trying to correct a computer breach. Any data which is transferred between roaming workers is hidden from view as is their location.
You can be safe in the knowledge your information is secure as the high level of encryption that is used would take a hacker a lifetime to crack. Aside from this, your VPN connections are protected against packet sniffers which make any WI-FI connection secure no matter where your location.
Browsers are another area that you can use to tighten up your online security. By the use of private browsing (incognito mode), you can prevent any user data from being stored on your system for your browsing sessions.
All the sites you have visited, and any cookies that could contain login details or personal information can be removed once your internet session has been completed.
Much of the security procedures you put in place help to protect you and your information yet safe surfing habits help to prevent yourself being overexposed to online threats.
Author Bio: Peter McBryde is an Online Security Expert and Tech Enthusiast. He writes for vpnstreamer.com.au – a site dedicated to better privacy, getting more from your internet connection and enjoying tech.
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Peter McBryde is a guest blogger, all opinions are his own.