According to a study that was conducted, the average number of times that a person touches their phone in a day is 2617 times.
People tend to touch their phones for many reasons for example:
- Checking bank accounts online
- Shopping online
- Downloading or sharing files
- Checking social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.
However, what most people forget is that any activity that you do online can put you at the risk of being hacked especially if you are not well secured. Attacks can include data breaches that may expose confidential information, malware attacks, phishing attacks, denial of service attacks, ransomware and more.
So, how can you protect yourself from cyber-attacks?
- Create passwords that are unique
The number one rule is to never use your date of birth as your password, such a password can easily be cracked by anyone. Instead use passwords that are complicated and hard to figure out. Your password should not consist of numbers or letters only as this makes it easy to crack, there are several tools that attackers are using now to generate such simple password.
A good password is 8 characters long or more, consists of a mixture of letters, numbers as well as special characters (?!*@#$).
- Recognize Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are usually E-mails or text messages that act like they come from a legitimate organization for example a bank in order to trick you into giving confidential information like your bank details, your credit card numbers and many more. Therefore, you need to be suspicious of any email that asks you to give your personal information, do not open any emails or click on links that may seem suspicious.
- Secure your device
What would happen if you left your house unlocked? Obviously, intruders would find it very easy to get into your house without your permission. This is the same case when it comes to your devices, people can easily get into your device and gain access to confidential data, steal the data or expose it, all this can happen if you do not secure your device.
Here is how you can secure your devices:
- Installing antivirus software
- Lock your devices using passwords, figure prints or gestures
- Restrict installation of unknown applications on your computers