With the recent publicity surrounding the Heartbleed bug in the media it has highlighted the importance of being secure on-line. Aside from the Heartbleed bug there have been many high profile companies which have had major security issues with massive amounts of credit card records stolen. Target and Adobe are two of the most high profile examples. In the case of Adobe the numbers of users affected is believed to be 38 million.
On-line security can feel like an impossible task but in many ways its similar to a car. There are a number of things you can do to reduce the risk you will have your car broken into. For a car not leaving valuables on display and parking in a well lit area are things we take for granted as common sense. In this article I am going to discuss some simple strategies to help keep you safe on-line.
1. Software Updates
This is the easiest and most underestimated task. If you frequently feel getting updates for Java, Windows or other software is annoying its important to realize that its vital these updates be applied ASAP as they usually contain major security fixes to recently found vulnerabilities. The same is true on any device that is connected to the Internet e.g. smartphone, tablet, TV.
2. Password Manager
Best practise for passwords on the Internet is always to use a different and difficult to guess (numbers + non standard characters) passwords. Over time with more services on the Internet this becomes impossible as how can you remember over 100 unique passwords? The answer is to use a Password Manager. There are many options available on the market and you can research the best password manager for your needs. Many password managers have security alerts and password generators as features.
3. Multiple accounts
Have multiple email, Facebook, Twitter and similar accounts that you can use when you are required to sign up for a service or promotion. In this way it will ensure that your primary email and Facebook account will not be targeted by spam. Also if the service you sign up for is hacked they will not have your primary account information.
4. Personal information
On social networking sites like Facebook set privacy settings as high and do not share birth dates (including the year) as this can make it easier to answer security questions. If you do not require to provide your email or Facebook account to sign up to a new service create a new unique username and password to protect your identity.
5. Restrict use of public WiFi
Never use public WiFi for any financial transactions if at all possible. Anyone who is in the same coffee shop as you are could potentially access your information and you would never know. Restrict usage just for information e.g. Google or a news web site.
6. Be on the lookout for Phishing scams
Be careful on emails that are sent to you and do not open any attachments from people you do not know. Be careful with emails relating to financial information and account information resets.
7. Always use HTTPS when browsing
When browsing the Internet always use the secure https:// rather than http:// version of a web site/. This ensures that your communications are encrypted. A good plugin that will automatically perform this is HTTPS Everywhere from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
