April 17, 2024
How best to stay safe in the digital world, so you don’t unwittingly give away information.
ere are a few tips to stay safe in the digital world.
Strong Password
Have a unique password that only you would know and use Upper and lower case, numbers, and special characters. We tend to use the same password on multiple log ins because it makes it easier to remember, the danger is hackers know that, so if they do “acquire” the password from one source then it’s easy for them to use multiple times to access your data. It’s worth changing your passwords every so often and keep a list of your log in details somewhere safe or better still use a password manager.
A strong password can be several random words strung together – pajamasweatercarpark. If you have a favourite book, take the first three words at the start of a chapter and bookmark it. You can use an acronym – myfavouritesingerofthe70’sEltonJohn becomes mfsot70EJ.
Just as security becomes stronger, so do scammers and one useful rule whenever you are asked for a password or a pin, is always to give an incorrect answer and see if they pick up on it. If they don’t, then end of the conversation.
Antivirus Software
This is a must and there are those designed to safeguard you and others which will do that and keep your device running smoothly. You can find a selection of them here.
Your computer does need a health check up every so often to keep it running smoothly, so it is worth considering antivirus software that fulfils this function. When prompted to free disk space or clear browser history, cache, or update drivers, make sure you know what this means because nearly all the actions are irreversible. Antivirus software will often warn you of a suspect web address or email. Some is free and some you pay for. Here you can find reviews of Antivirus software.
I’m sure you are all aware never to reply to emails from people you don’t know or open any attachments unless you know the sender. Opening an attachment or clicking on a link is the way scammers drop code into a computer to give them access.
It is very common to receive an email that looks perfectly legitimate because there is a familiar logo but by looking at the senders address you can see it’s incorrect as the @details are very different to what you would expect , for example, Netflix <info@members.netflix.com> becomes Netflix@joesmith.com
Telephone
Cold calling, especially anything financial, is one of the easiest ways for you to be defrauded. Pretending to be from your bank and calling you because of suspicious activity on your account, fraudsters will tell you that you need to open a new account and transfer the balance of your existing account.
The simplest way to deal with such calls is to say you never give any details over the phone. The other way, and this applies to any cold call, is to say very politely that you are not interested and to thank them for the call and end the conversation. Don’t get engaged in a conversation because they can be very persuasive.
Scammers who use false representation
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