Here we will give you a few tips on how to improve the Cybersecurity of your computer and information when browsing the internet. Our dependence on electronic devices, their vulnerable factory design and the little culture that exists in the region for their protection, is a volatile combination that can expose all aspects of our digital life to cybercriminals. Access to online banking, photos, phone numbers and even personal notes are saved on our devices and often automatically in the cloud.
It is our responsibility to take the necessary measures to protect that information and protect our phones, PCs and tablets against theft, hacks or loss, said Dmitry Bestuzhev, Director of the Research and Analysis Team for Kaspersky Lab Latin America.
for a cybercriminal it will be more sweet to access information from a financial institution than to access your accounts. But it turns out that the first is complicated and expensive, while the second is not so much. And, on top of that, it can be replicated thousands, millions of times in an automated way. It is essential to understand this. Protect you cybersecurity yourself, information or money theft is easier than you think.
Recommendations to improve your Cybersecurity:
▸Encrypt data: To protect online transactions, portal registrations, or other actions that require personal data, encryption software must be used that encrypts information sent over the Internet. The ‘padlock’ icon in your browser bar means that the data will be encrypted between the browser and the website that is being contacted, taking this icon into account helps to identify where it is safe to leave a record or not. Similarly, using virtual private networks (VPNs) for all communications will shield the information hosted on the web.
▸Passwords must be private: Being creative is an effective way to have strong passwords, an example would be to think of a phrase and use the first letter of each word as a password or replace words or letters with some numbers or characters. The minimum length of passwords should be 16 characters, although the ideal is 24. Another option is also to use a password manager to create unique passwords for each site.
▸Do not post your personal information on social media: Never post your full name, identity number, address, phone number, or account numbers on publicly accessible sites. If personal information is published excessively, cybercriminals can find key data, use it to answer validation questions on accounts, and thus gain access to money and personal information. Social media allows users to limit access to the profile to only a small group of people.
▸Security software is life saver: Installing robust anti-malware software on all devices (desktop or mobile), setting the update preferences in real time, will allow protection against intrusions and infections that can compromise computer files; It is also recommended to enable the installation of security patches for operating systems and other software programs.
▸Don’t be fooled by phishing emails: You should not click on the links in emails that at first glance seem to have been sent by someone you trust, especially when they include striking messages or invite you to perform a particular action. Criminals use social engineering to get users to perform specific actions, such as opening a malicious link that exposes the system to a computer virus or spyware that captures passwords or other information.
▸Smart use of Wi-Fi: Before sending personal information from a laptop or device using a public wireless network, the information must be protected. The way to do this is by using an encrypted web page, which protects the information sent to and from a specific site; Or you can also use a virtual private network (VPN), where all the information you send on that network will be protected.
▸Back up data: There is malware from the ransomware family that handles very strong encryption protocols, so much so that there is no way to break these algorithms. And is that when a ransomware program infects a victim’s computer, it encrypts all files and then demands a ransom payment to decrypt them. But if the user has a backup copy of that information, the ransomware would not generate as many consequences and the operating system could even be reinstalled using the last saved information.
▸Always validate access levels for applications: It is said that in the digital world, if a service is free then the user is the product; This occurs because many free services and applications collect detailed personal information about users, allowing them to sell highly targeted advertising. Next time, when downloading a ‘free’ application, review the permissions and information it asks for in order to gain access and then decide if this application really deserves those privileges.
There are many more ways to enhance the cybersecurity of your computer but these would be the main and most important remember it is your duty and more than anything your information that must be protected. Always look for ways to boost your cybersecurity
