Have a glimpse of what all
you can lose if one of your accounts is compromised... you as well as your
employer can lose standing in the market... it can even affect your financial
security... hacker can put your reputation at risk. So, is it not better to play
safe with sensitive information? Let us remind you that several well-funded
groups as well as your competitors, criminals and governments have been taking
an acute interest in getting at your data.Luckily, there are some basic doctrines that you can follow along with best practices to manage to stay safe online. We are sharing some basic rules that can make your online life securer than ever.
1. Internet is
insecure to the core
Do you know majority of the protocols that form the Internet — such as HTTP (the Web), FTP (file transfers) and SMTP (email) — aren’t safe. This means whatever data you transfer using these technologies is open for anyone to see. So, you might think you’re sending a sealed envelope, but in reality, it’s a postcard that anyone can read.
2. Use Encryption
Luckily, you can use several most common Internet protocols with safe alternatives. These options bestow you with the similar functionality, but help you encrypt your data before transmitting it and decrypt it once it’s delivered. HTTPS is one of the safest protocols that makes it possible to transmit credit-card numbers and other sensitive data on the Internet. To check whether an HTTPS connection is available for a particular site, enter https:// rather than entering http:// in your browser’s address bar.
3. Avoid using weak passwords
Several security breaches start with feeble passwords. Don’t create passwords, which are easy to guess. Various studies indicate the most common passwords are also the weakest ones. Strengthen your password by choosing appropriate length— use eight or more characters. You can also include different letters, numbers and symbols, with a mix of upper and lowercase characters.
4. No password is more important than the one for your email
Avoid sharing your email passwords. If a person has access to your email, it is easier for him/her to gain access to any number of other accounts. This is because many sites allow for password resetting by clicking email-based confirmation links.
5. Use different email accounts for different purposes
Work towards minimising the damage of a breach. This can be done by using one email account for most public communications and another email for private for more-sensitive communications.
6. For the best security, use a password manager and memorise just one “super password.”
Use strong passwords to ensure digital security. It will be even better if you use different passwords for different accounts. It is difficult to remember lots of different complicated passwords, in this situation, you can use a password manager. This tool generates very strong passwords and then encrypts those passwords.
7. Storing and communicating data essentially compromise security
Though encryption is a great tool, but choosing good passwords can surely help you keep your data safe.
8. Anonymisation can resolve various security concerns.
Apart from encryption, anonymisation is also another way to ensure security. Anonymisation involves various technologies including proxy servers and VPNs. Tor is a popular anonymisation tool, which employs a combination of encryption and relays to confuse data and send it on a junction path before it reaches its destination.
9. Open WiFi networks can be a problem
Though HTTPS is a big security tool even when you are communicating over insecure wireless networks, but it is still risky. However, information which has been encrypted over HTTPS won’t be visible, but certain websites execute HTTPS partly, protecting login pages but not other details.
10. Protecting illicit access to your physical devices is essential
All efforts to secure your online details would go in vain if your pc isn’t physically secure. If you stay signed in to accounts in your browsers, it wont take much time to access sensitive data stored on your pc.
Do you know majority of the protocols that form the Internet — such as HTTP (the Web), FTP (file transfers) and SMTP (email) — aren’t safe. This means whatever data you transfer using these technologies is open for anyone to see. So, you might think you’re sending a sealed envelope, but in reality, it’s a postcard that anyone can read.
2. Use Encryption
Luckily, you can use several most common Internet protocols with safe alternatives. These options bestow you with the similar functionality, but help you encrypt your data before transmitting it and decrypt it once it’s delivered. HTTPS is one of the safest protocols that makes it possible to transmit credit-card numbers and other sensitive data on the Internet. To check whether an HTTPS connection is available for a particular site, enter https:// rather than entering http:// in your browser’s address bar.
3. Avoid using weak passwords
Several security breaches start with feeble passwords. Don’t create passwords, which are easy to guess. Various studies indicate the most common passwords are also the weakest ones. Strengthen your password by choosing appropriate length— use eight or more characters. You can also include different letters, numbers and symbols, with a mix of upper and lowercase characters.
4. No password is more important than the one for your email
Avoid sharing your email passwords. If a person has access to your email, it is easier for him/her to gain access to any number of other accounts. This is because many sites allow for password resetting by clicking email-based confirmation links.
5. Use different email accounts for different purposes
Work towards minimising the damage of a breach. This can be done by using one email account for most public communications and another email for private for more-sensitive communications.
6. For the best security, use a password manager and memorise just one “super password.”
Use strong passwords to ensure digital security. It will be even better if you use different passwords for different accounts. It is difficult to remember lots of different complicated passwords, in this situation, you can use a password manager. This tool generates very strong passwords and then encrypts those passwords.
7. Storing and communicating data essentially compromise security
Though encryption is a great tool, but choosing good passwords can surely help you keep your data safe.
8. Anonymisation can resolve various security concerns.
Apart from encryption, anonymisation is also another way to ensure security. Anonymisation involves various technologies including proxy servers and VPNs. Tor is a popular anonymisation tool, which employs a combination of encryption and relays to confuse data and send it on a junction path before it reaches its destination.
9. Open WiFi networks can be a problem
Though HTTPS is a big security tool even when you are communicating over insecure wireless networks, but it is still risky. However, information which has been encrypted over HTTPS won’t be visible, but certain websites execute HTTPS partly, protecting login pages but not other details.
10. Protecting illicit access to your physical devices is essential
All efforts to secure your online details would go in vain if your pc isn’t physically secure. If you stay signed in to accounts in your browsers, it wont take much time to access sensitive data stored on your pc.
Original Article goes here..
Part time tech blogger.
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