10 Best ways to prevent “Hackers” stealing your data!

Everyone is online, we spent nearly 70% of our time on the internet, be it studying, reading, shopping, surfing, Facebook, Chatting, etc. But there is always a possibility that our personal data is vulnerable to hacking. Hackers are very smart and depends whether they want to target individual or target largest social media app or target sensitive data of company, Most of us like to think we're pretty tech-savvy, but research has shown that 69% of people use the same password for most apps and for multiple login Id’s and social media apps. So If a hacker gets one of your passwords, they can target multiple your multiple accounts. Hence, it is very important to keep your data safe. Here are the 10 best ways to keep your data safe if you are an active online user.

1) Update your Android or IoS and Windows or Mac Operating systems.

This is one of the most important steps that you need to follow, Keep your operating systems updated with the latest version and make sure you download it from the official website or reliable sources. These updates are usually to fix the security issues of which was not there in the previous version to keep it more secure, most of them do not update, and hence hackers get the information of such people because they find it easier to hack into an older version of the operating systems.

2)Download or Install the licensed software of anti-virus and avoid using free anti-virus.

The anti-virus which you install should be from the trusted sources, please check the version, reviews, and features of the antivirus to be downloaded or purchased. Make sure it is updated from time to time. Do not download free anti-virus because they are not from trusted sources and if you download it, it will give access to your entire laptop or mobile data to the hackers, because these free anti-viruses have malware installed inside them, which hacks your data without you knowing it.

3)Destroy all your hardware-related data incase if you are reselling your laptop or mobile.

This is the most crucial step. You need to perform a hard reset before selling your old laptop or mobile and make sure that all your data has been erased. Sometimes hard-reset also leaves some data behind, so you need to install third-party software from trusted sources to permanently delete the data. Many people just give it without performing a hard reset. This gives an open ground for hackers to steal your data.

4) Never keep your Wifi password Open or without any security

Always keep a strong password for your Wifi, you need to understand that the wifi is open for all, and if you keep it open the hackers will access your wifi and with the help of your IP address they can pull out various information and hack your data. Vice versa is also true. Never get connected to open wifi connections, because this is a trap laid by the hackers so that if your Laptop or mobile gets connected, they have the tools to access your sensitive information.

5) Passwords should be very strong and complicated if possible.

Passwords should at least have 1 capital character, 1 small character, 1 numeric, and 1 special character. It should be at least 15 to 18 characters long. and should be different for different accounts. Also if people have multiple passwords, they have a habit of storing it in the word file or in the mobile app, if that is true and if your laptop or mobile gets hacked, then the hacker will get a gold mine and you will have provided it. So the best way to avoid this is to make sure the file that you have stored the password is hidden or encrypted so that only you can decrypt it.

6) Come up with security answers which are not very easy to guess.

Whenever creating or signing up for an account, make sure you know the answers of your security questions, now these questions of your favorite pet, maiden name are too common for the hackers to crack your answer, and if they are analyzing your search behavior on internet, it almost becomes a piece of cake for hackers to get the answers. Make sure that your security answer is such that it should “not at all related to your daily life and activities”.

7) Beware of phishing activities on the internet.

You should be aware of phishing activities. “Phishing” is basically when the hacker tries to steal the data by giving you free bait. You must have got emails where they say “ you have won 10 crore lottery” and then they ask you for your details and in excitement you give all the details and for transferring of that amount they ask for various fees and when you pay them, they vanish. These are pure scams and nothing else. So never open or click the links of such emails.

8) Make sure your website is secure when you click on the URL link.

This happens when you search something on google console, and when you get the results to make sure the link is secure, it starts with “https//” or laptop or mobile gives you the warning that the site is not secure, so please do not enter such websites. Hackers normally create similar websites and due to which when you click on that URL and enter your details, it gets hacked. Best is to use incognito mode for safe search. Do not install .apk files from unknown sources in your mobile they have malware installed inside it.

9) Do not store your personal information on the cloud servers

Cloud servers are virtual servers that anyone can access and hence it is very important to make sure that your personal and sensitive data is not stored on the cloud servers, and the data which is stored on the cloud server is password protected. If the servers get hacked they will get all your data and they can sell it to third party companies or use it for unethical means. Hackers mostly target these servers because they get a huge volume of data.

10) Always logout from your social media websites after you are done.

We just have a tendency of closing the website, without logging out. This is very dangerous, it is like leaving your house unlocked. Hackers tracking your activity will be aware and with the help of third-party software cookies of the website, they can log in with your identity and can use it for various reasons and you will have no clue about it. Always turn off “My location” in the settings menu if you are not using maps.

With the advancement of technologies, there are more and more ways data is getting leaked and sold to the third party. Websites are getting hacked frequently. We must keep our data secure. Being socially active online is a necessity and that we cannot avoid, but to be aware and cautious about it is in our hands and we should do the best to avoid our personal information being hacked.