Many of us have come to find life without the internet unimaginable. After all, where else can you be laughing at a kitten’s antics only to order a custom-made T-shirt or enroll in a drawing class less than a minute later?
Yet sunshine and rainbows don’t paint the complete picture. The internet can be a dangerous place full of misinformation and crooks waiting for you to make a mistake. Here are five fundamental ones to avoid at all costs to stay safe.
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Use Weak or Duplicate Passwords
We sacrifice safety for convenience online all the time. Despite constant warnings and plenty of notable incidents, people still use short passwords that are easy to guess and hack. Worse yet, they keep reusing the same ones for different accounts. Facebook or TikTok might protect your credentials well, but nothing’s going to stop a hacker who stole your password from a no-name site and found it works on them, too.
The cure is simple and not as tedious as you might think. Use long, complex, and unique passwords for each account. You don’t have to remember or write down the dozens of passwords you’ll need. Just use a password manager to save and store them. The manager will let you fill in account details automatically while only having to remember its master password.
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Skip Two-Factor Authentication
Strong passwords already help a lot, but they remain vulnerable to theft. Hackers target websites big and small, and they may eventually succeed in breaching a site’s defenses and obtaining your login details.
Two-factor authentication prevents this from automatically turning into the worst-case scenario. It adds an extra verification step – a code sent via SMS or an authentication app – that prevents account access unless entered. This ensures your accounts stay safe until you’ve had a chance to reset the password.
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Fall for Phishing Scams
If you have an email address, chances are you’ve received a phishing email disguised as a genuine message at least once. It’s always from someone claiming to be an online store, your bank, a gaming account provider, etc., urging you to download the attachment or click a link to confirm your account details.
That’s how they get you. The attachment contains malware that infects and possibly even disables your device. The link leads to a copy of a real website but steals all the data you type in. Sometimes it’s just your real account info. Other times, it can be enough personal and financial information to commit identity theft.
Be extra careful when dealing with emails you weren’t expecting, especially if they sound urgent or promise grand rewards. Make sure the address matches the one the real sender provides on its official website. When in doubt, send a separate email through official channels or call support for clarification.
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Forget Securing Your Connection
You could be doing everything right and still become a victim if you accidentally expose your sensitive information over an unsafe network. Public Wi-Fi you’d find at coffee shops, airports, etc., is a notorious example since it’s easy to monitor or spoof, potentially giving hackers access to any valuable information you type in while connected.
Using a VPN is a convenient and easy way to safeguard your connection. Once on, the VPN creates a protective encrypted tunnel neither snoops nor ISPs can see through. They might register some activity, but they can’t see or intercept files, chats, or typed-in passwords.
Since the VPN masks and alters your IP address, you can also use it to access content that would otherwise be geographically restricted. This is super convenient for when you’re on vacation but still want full access to your favorite streaming services or unblock YouTube, TikTok, or other platforms that might be restricted in your country.
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Visit Unsafe Websites
Much of the internet we access for day-to-day activities is curated and reasonably safe. However, there exist many less apparent nooks that are best left unexplored. Sites that promise insane discounts or offer free access to stuff that shouldn’t be.
The risk of infecting your device with malware or having your credit card info stolen isn’t worth it. One way of checking a site’s legitimacy is to make sure it starts with HTTPS and has a padlock next to the name. That means any information you exchange with it is encrypted.
Even so, legit-looking sites could get you into trouble if they engage in shady practices like selling illegal or stolen stuff. Always check if a site you’re unsure of is legitimate and see what real users think before taking a chance.
