When we are on the internet, it’s really easy to forget about safety and how, sometimes, the internet isn’t always the most socially secure place to be. At school, we had an internet security professional come in and speak to us about ensuring your own safety on the internet. How can you keep yourself safe? There are a lot of simple things you can do to make yourself protected from hacks, phishing sites and other threats on the internet.
1. Change your password often or increase the digits in your password.
Changing your password every month, or even year, makes it harder for hackers to access your account. It’s even better if you make your password longer than 11 characters. Passwords over 11 digits dramatically increase in difficulty. Of course, it doesn’t make it impossible to hack into your account, but it makes it extremely difficult for hackers to get into your account. If you change your password every month, on top of the long passwords, it makes it so that the hacker has to keep track of when you will change your password and what you will change it to. It takes a lot of effort to hack into an account like that.
2. Don’t use the same passwords for multiple accounts.
Hate to break it to you, but hackers know you’re lazy. We all want to be lazy, but sometimes you have to just do it. A simple shortcut is just to note down your password in a journal, notebook or diary. Many people also like to keep track of their passwords electronically, for example, on a word document or on a e-sticky note.
3. Keep your accounts as private as you can make them.
Many people like to have a lot of cyber friends, whether it’s followers on Instagram and Twitter or friends on Facebook. But is there a need to have such a large audience? How many of the 400 friends do you actually know on Facebook? If you narrow your “friends” down to just people you know, you don’t have to worry about suspicious onlookers of your profiles. This is one of the simplest things to do to ensure your safety. The point is, if you don’t expose yourself to the danger, you probably won’t have to deal with it.
4. Don’t post personal information, such as your phone number, etc.
First of all, why do you want to post personal information? Maybe it’s peer pressure or maybe it’s the new trend, but what benefits does posting your phone number and address give you? Posting personal information makes you a target for the crimes committed through the internet; it gives people a direct link to you. Do you want that? Also, giving people your birthday, age and other information about yourself gives people on the internet ways to know exactly who you are. Sure, maybe you said you were from Calgary, how does that make you vulnerable? Well, does your account give away your name? If so, did you fill out your birthday, age and school? If you filled out more than two of these things, then you aren’t safe. It is highly improbable that anyone has the exact same name as you with the exact same birthday and age that goes to your school. In this manner, people can find you. What’s the point of posting personal information? Does it really matter when you are putting yourself at risk?
5. Post your photos so that they are only visible to people you know.
Although posting a selfie with a background of trees doesn’t give away your location, your phone number or any other personal information, when you post that photo onto Facebook or Instagram, your photo leaves a trace. This trace can give people (who are determined to find your info) personal information about you, but if you limit people’s access to these photos, then strangers can’t access them. This also ties into keeping your account private, since, if your account is private, all of your photos, posts, etc. will be private. But, if you are a socialite, like many others, and like sharing funny videos or cool tips, then privatize certain parts of your account (just be aware that it is much more work).
**For more tips look for video below.