Top 10 security tips for Online Security

Online safety or cyber safety or E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user’s awareness of personal safety and security risks to private information and property associated with using the internet, and the self-protection from computer crime.

Unsafe surfing can also lead to other threats—from embarrassing personal comments or images that, once online, are nearly impossible to erase, to getting mixed up with people you’d rather have had nothing to do with.

Table of Contents

Top 10 Security Tips for Online Security

1.Set up Security configuration of your social network accounts
2.Publish minimum information in social accounts
3. Choose only proven online trading platforms
4. Make sure you always visit HTTPS encrypted web pages
5.Install additional protection against unauthorized logging into accounts
6.Disable cookies save option in the browser
7. Make it a habit to regularly change passwords
8. Do not use public Wifi hotspots
9. Keep track of where and when you entered your account
10. Be anonymous on the network

Tip 1# Setup Security configuration of your social network accounts

Social media users tend to overshare details in order to connect to friends, family, and colleagues. But these private details can be used maliciously by cybercriminals to access sensitive accounts and create fraudulent identities. For example, in Facebook, you can prohibit third-party companies to collect your data.

Tip 2# Publish minimum information in social accounts

Share minimum information on your social accounts, Do not click on the popups and share any personal details on any website or on your social accounts

Tip 3# Choose only proven online trading platforms

Investing is very much essential these days as savings is not adequate to fulfill all our financial goals and to beat inflation. There are several investment options available and select them as per needs and convenience. Carefully study the reviews about the store before purchasing

Tip 4# Make sure you always visit HTTPS encrypted web pages

HTTP, which is short for HyperText Transfer Protocol, is a set of rules for transferring a web page between a web server and a browser. When browse to a specific URL in the browser, it starts a conversation with the website’s server to download everything it needs to render that web page. HTTP transfer data in “plain text” means any third-party can listen in on browser’s conversation and see everything that is being shared. HTTPS does exact same conversation between the browser and the web server, but now all of that information is encrypted. Only your browser and the web server possess the key to decrypt it.

In addition to having “https://” in the URL bar on your browser, will also see a padlock icon somewhere nearby indicating that your connection to the website is secure.

Note: Never share sensitive information on the URL if starting with HTTP, always use HTTPS webpages

Tip 5# Install additional protection against unauthorized logging into accounts

Enable two-way factor authentication for login to your accounts. Two-factor authentication is a method of utilizing a handheld device as an authenticator for portals. The best example of Two authentication is using the password with OTP sent at mobile phone registered with the account

Tip 6# Disable cookies save option in the browser

Disable cookies in the browser, it saving your values shared on the web pages and can be used to log in again to the account. By default, cookies save option is enable in browsers

Tip 7# Make it a habit to regularly change of passwords

The password of the accounts must be changed after a couple of months and the password should be a combination of alphanumeric and special symbols.

Some examples of the weak password are

admin@123

password@123

abcxyz@123

Some examples of a strong password which can be created from the weak passwords also like

Adm!n@!@#

P@ssw0rd@!2#

Ab(X^Z2!@#

Tip 8# Do not use public Wifi hotspots

Make sure you never connected with the public hotspots, because most often data is being collected by them. If you are connected with any public wifi hotspot make sure you never share sensitive information oven them. They can steal and read your personal information

Wifi Hotspot risk like:

Man-in-the-Middle attacks: A MitM attack is a form of eavesdropping. When data is sent from computer to service/website, and vulnerabilities can allow an attacker to get in between these transmissions and “read” them.

Malware distribution: A software vulnerability is a security weakness found in an operating system or software program. Hackers can exploit this weakness by to target a specific vulnerability, and then inject the malware onto your device

Snooping and sniffing: This technique can allow the attackers to access that webpages you have visited (including any information you may have filled out while surfing that webpage) to being able to capture login credentials, and even hack your accounts.

Tip 9# Keep track of where and when you entered your account

Always make sure that you logged out from the account if you accessed on some other device. Social networks, mail services are informing you when someone is trying to access your account. Like Gmail is ending you the mail informing that your account is accessing from any unidentified browser or location or device where you never visited. You can trace your all activities of WhatsApp from its settings option.

Tip 10# Be anonymous on the network

Virtual private network aka VPN’s option can be used for being anonymous on the network.

A virtual private network (VPN) gives you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection. VPN allows you to connect to the Internet via an encrypted tunnel to ensure your online privacy and protect your sensitive data. A VPN is commonly used to secure connection to public Wi-FI hotspot, hide IP address and make your browsing private.