As smart as hackers have become, if we fall into a trap, it's mostly our own fault. Here's how to defend yourself
We live in an interconnected world, where every day hundreds of pieces of personal data are transmitted from one device to another. Sensitive information that, if not sufficiently protected, may end up in the hands of unscrupulous people, ready to do what they want.
And there are so many dangers hiding on the web. There seems to be no limit to the imagination of hackers, skilled in leading users to reveal personal data online by means that are sometimes very simple. Despite constant warnings, many still take the bait for phishing emails. Then there are those who don't care to share passwords and even bank account details online. And not only that. An unhealthy habit, which inevitably represents a danger to privacy, is to disclose sensitive information online freely on any platform, such as forums where it is not uncommon to find phone numbers and addresses.
Although hackers have become very smart, putting into action even sophisticated tools and difficult to detect, if we fall into the trap the fault is mainly ours. It would be enough to take a few steps to reduce the probability that your personal data is stolen by cyber criminals.
Password
The password is the most important element to protect yourself from hackers. Choosing weak credentials, i.e. easy to guess, is very risky for personal data. Many users, as surveys confirm, use the password 123456. Another dangerous practice is to use the date of birth, which a hacker could find by taking a "tour" of the victim's social profile. And again, many users tend to always use the same password. Just imagine what would happen if a hacker managed to breach one of your profiles: he would have access to all your other accounts. So, work out multiple passwords and make sure they are complex. It is difficult to store several credentials, in these cases the advice is to use a password manager.
Sharing online
Sharing personal information online exposes us to several dangers. In general, you should limit the publication of sensitive data on the network. Very important is to change the default privacy conditions of social networks, so as to restrict the number of people who can access everything we post online: date of birth, photographs, videos and more. Don't trust many cloud platforms: read the terms of service well. The same goes for browser extensions or applications: check what data the programs access and how they handle it.
Distribution of sensitive data
We have already mentioned it: many users don't seem to care about their personal data. They spread on the Internet without any hesitation some extremely sensitive information: passwords, dates of birth, address, name and surname. And these "gifts" (personal data are very valuable, so much so that someone called them the new oil) are distributed not only on social networks, but also on forums, on online forms of dubious usefulness or on unknown sites. Be more cautious, always. Even at the supermarket, when you have to fill in the form to get discounts. Protect your data.
Account
Most users have more than one online account: email, bank, social network, to name a few. Leaving aside the fact that, as we have seen, it is advisable to use different credentials for each profile, many make a very serious mistake: they log in and forget to log out of the account. A very dangerous practice, if the computer used is not private. In other words, it means that anyone can snoop into our lives. Remember to always log out and, if you have a chance, delete the history, which may contain sensitive information (email address and password).
Secure Platforms
We often use the internet to book vacations or to buy a smartphone. Be careful. Check that the platform is reliable, even from the comments of other users. Avoid websites without the https security protocol, which protects the transmission of data (especially credit card data). And don't release sensitive information if you don't know the reputation of the website.