Safety first!

In a world that becomes more and more remote and digital, it’s kind of a given that our online security becomes more and more threatened. Unless your device is completely off the grid, there is always a possibility you could be subjected to attacks by malware, viruses, spyware, DDOS, or hacking in general. We are encouraged to keep changing our strong passwords, have an updated virus program, and in general think like a cyber security officer. This is not doable for many of us, since we’re just online to watch some youtube, check our emails, or swipe an hour (or five) on TikTok.

Since early days, I’ve been pretty aware of issues about security online and I keep updated on the subject almost on a daily basis. I can understand that it’s exhausting for most of us to be diligent in this matter and therefore I chose to write this little piece about it. Just a brief overview of what you can do to be just a little safer when you’re looking at those cute dog memes.

1. Make sure you actually have some kind of antimalware software installed on your computer. This applies to PC (whether you use Windows or Linux) as well as Apple users. Especially Mac users are under the impression that their beloved computers are immune to viruses after Apple did a VERY successful campaign back in 2012 about Macs being virus free. This is not the case anymore. Get your security software and keep it updated, peepz. It takes a little time to set it up and schedule but it’s worth it to have some peace of mind, browsing the web. A good, FREE one is Kaspersky. There is software for all the larger Operating systems at Kaspersky.
2. Be aware. I’m not saying you should spend hours every day scouring the internet for the latest news on who and what will attack you next, nor need you be updated on all the threats out there. Just take a little time once a month to google the security updates. A good place to bookmark is Threatpost.
3. Read. My mother is an exceptional no-read clicker. If a pop-up comes on her screen she almost automatically clicks OK just to be done with it. Don’t do that. Read and understand the pop-ups you get. Trust me, it will save you a lot of headaches down the line.
4. When your malware software tells you a site is not safe, it does so for a reason. Make an informed decision if you actually should visit that site or if there is an alternative to retrieve the information you are looking for.

Yeah, that about sums it up. You can, of course, be much more aware of the online threats out there but keeping this little list in mind will keep you (if not safe) a bit safer.

Another rising problem is IoT (Internet of Things) or as it is called in general, smart products. While your computer/phone/tablet might be safeguarded, by your antimalware software, your IoT gadgets are not. They run on software like every other electronic thing and software can be hacked. Nowadays, the developers of smart gadgets are pretty aware of the problem and things are getting more and more safeguards. This wasn’t always the case. So if you have a smart home or some smart gadgets, it might be a good idea to upgrade those.