Closing digital doors is essential for protecting your devices from hackers, scams, thefts, and viruses. The number of victims of social media scams has drastically increased and reached 770 million in 2022. For that, hackers usually use viruses and other forms in your devices to penetrate them. Considering the financial statistics, the victims lost up to 10 billion last year. However, according to cyber security and behavioral attitude reports, younger people are likely to have more risks of becoming victims of these hackers than the elder community.
As the world is accelerated towards digitalization, online scams and hacking are not expected to be stopped in the coming years. Still, you can protect yourself from these hackers and viruses by taking some precautions, and you must embrace many new habits to keep yourself in digital hygiene.
Before stepping forward, we would like you to learn more about hackers and viruses, why they temper your devices, and what the motivation behind infecting your devices is.
Hackers are the people who try to access your devices through unfair means to steal your sensitive data like financial information or any other confidential details. And viruses such as malicious software or malware cause damage to your data and system in various forms, which we will discuss as we move forward in the article.
Use firewall
A firewall is a network security filter that inspects the outgoing and incoming data from all sources. It not only monitors the data being exchanged between the devices and the outer world but also prevents unauthorized access to your devices and makes you alert regarding intrusion attempts.
You might be thinking about where to get an authentic firewall. Companies like Cisco, Sophos, or Fortinet provide a paid hardware version of the firewall to protect your network. However, purchasing an additional business networking firewall can protect confidential data as well.
Get an antivirus software
When you get a new personal computer or any device, installing antivirus software should be your priority because a device with no antivirus can be the easiest target. Antivirus protects your device from anything malicious by scanning your files and incoming emails. Consequently, we can say that antiviruses are the antidote to many viruses.
Some top-line viruses that can harm your data and halt the efficiency of your device are Zeus, Code Red, CroptoLocker, etc.
People end up losing a lot of data due to virus attacks. So, if you habitually install antivirus software on your devices, you will live with a piece of mind of not getting your data corrupted.
Use complex passwords
The more complex password you set for your device, the more it will be complicated for hackers to penetrate your devices. Hackers keep an arsenal of tools to hack your systems. So, you can protect your device by breaking your habit of creating simpler passwords that are also not unique.
You might be curious to learn what a complex password looks like. A comprehensive password is created by combining numbers, upper and lower case letters, and symbols. Password managers such as Dashlane, Sticky Password, and Last Pass can assist you in creating a strong password and not forgetting it.
Use Virtual Private Network (VPN)
You can protect your devices by using VPN. A Virtual Private Network encrypts all your online activities, and these encryptions are too complex for hackers to crack. Moreover, if you use a VPN, your IP will bounce to different locations, which makes it difficult for hackers to identify your actual IP address. So, always use a VPN whenever you need to use any unsecured public network or just simply surf the internet for fun.
How to protect Routers
Routers are devices we can not rely on entirely and blindly because they also lack the security needed to protect the devices. If you want to secure this device from hackers, you should first set up a network to log into your router device. After it, by setting up a strong password and encrypted setup, you can further protect your device from hackers.
If anyone is trying to access your network, you can first check who they are on Nuwber. Give them access only if you’re sure their intentions are clear.
Switch off your Bluetooth
Many, if not most, people do not keep in check the functionality of their phones. For instance, they keep their Bluetooth on even when it is not in use. Consequently, keeping these options available even though they are not in use opens another backdoor for hackers to break in.
Therefore, you must consider closing all these accessibility tools to protect your devices from digital perpetrators.
Install security app
Smartphones have become a basic necessity for almost every individual. With the help of these handy instruments, you not only stay connected to the world but also use them for financial transactions and email communication for your important business meeting any time anywhere.
Additionally, these days everyone has their private personal details, confidential business data, and private information in these innovative handy instruments. To protect all this critical data, you must use security apps for your smartphones similar to your antivirus and antispyware software.
Most of the people in your contact list must be using different security apps for their devices. You can call a few of them to get an idea of a good app.
Clear your browsing history
Whatever you search online on your devices using various search engines, the links of the site you visit get stored in the browsing history. Thus, hackers, with cookies and cache, find a way to penetrate your device to steal your personal information.
Hence, make sure to clear your browsing history. It will lower the risk of falling prey to hackers.
Conclusion
Indeed with the help of technology, human beings have an easy and luxurious way of life. Hence, they have invented a lot of digital devices that have made daily tasks easier to perform. However, despite these benefits, we have also encountered hackers, scammers, and viruses. Therefore, our devices are always at risk because of these issues. But there are many habits you can adopt as your everyday activities that will protect your devices from hackers and viruses.
