Whether you are using the internet for online shopping, posting on different social media platforms, or just to surf the web, did you know that you are being watched?
For this reason, before starting to work with social media platforms or online websites, you must familiarize yourself with the main cybersecurity measures that you must take into account daily. If you follow them, you prevent cyber crimes and protect yourself from hackers.
The following tips will be especially useful for work, but you should also adopt them in your personal accounts!
1. Don’t share your devices
One of the first unwritten rules to guarantee the security of your social networks or those of your clients is that you should not share the devices you use daily with other people. As much as you trust your friends or family, sharing sensitive information with other people can put them at risk even inadvertently.
It is enough for an acquaintance to install the wrong application on your smartphone or to connect to the internet from a compromised Wi-Fi network for the passwords and content of your devices to fall into the hands of cybercriminals.
Your data and information are very valuable to hackers, so make sure you protect them with all the tools you have at your disposal.
2. Use strong passwords
Strong passwords should be the norm on every internet platform you use for anything. If your password is too weak, you can be sure that hackers will be able to crack it by using a handful of tools that facilitate their numerous attacks. That is why it is so important that all your keys are random, long, and impossible to guess.
Subsequently, strong passwords are usually difficult to remember, so you will need some tools to help you with that. In that case, you can opt for a password manager, an application designed to store your passwords in an encrypted vault inside your device and use them whenever you need to access an online account.
3. Do not reuse your passwords
Also, remember that your passwords must be unique since your accounts would be compromised very easily if you use the same password for all of them.
Keep in mind that, even if you can protect your passwords well, the internet platforms you use daily are subject to continuous cyberattacks that try to break into their databases to get hold of these passwords and other crucial data.
It is enough for one of these attacks to be successful for the passwords of millions of people to be leaked, and among these leaked passwords may be yours. That is why it is so important that you make sure that none of your passwords is used to access more than one account.
4. Don’t install apps from questionable sources
Your smartphone can be exposed to cyber attacks if you install unofficial applications that do not come from the Play Store or App Store.
Illegitimate apps often have malware embedded in their code in order to steal all the information of the users who install them.
These apps can steal the photos you upload to your social networks, and even detect your password and put it in the hands of cyber attackers. That’s why you should be very careful about the applications you install on your phone, even though they may sometimes seem very convenient for your work or entertainment.
5. Protect your devices against malware
It is still as necessary as ever to have anti-malware software that allows you to protect your devices against possible cyber threats, especially if you use them to store personal and sensitive information.
Viruses and other forms of malware continue to evolve and put users’ devices at risk, so the only remedy is to have a tool that allows you to counter them.
Of course, it is much more worth investing in an antivirus capable of preventing any type of attack, so as not to have to suffer the loss of your personal data or that of your clients for not having protected them in time.
6. Avoid public Wi-Fi networks
Wi-Fi networks in hotels or cafes can be very convenient for those who travel. And one of the first things we usually do through them is check our Facebook account or our Instagram feed. But the truth is that these networks are usually quite unsecured. Still, hundreds of people connect to them every day.
It is, therefore, necessary for you to avoid them, and you should always connect through the 4G or 5G network of your SIM card. You should only use public Wi-Fi networks as a last resort, and if you need to use them, you should at least try to encrypt your connection with a VPN to protect your data when browsing.
7. Do not access data from third-party devices
In the same way that it is not recommended that anyone uses your smartphone or your personal computer without your direct supervision, it is also not a good idea to access your social networks from third-party devices. The reason is that you have no way of knowing if that device is in good condition and if it is 100% free of malware.
Many forms of malware such as Trojans or keyloggers operate in the background without affecting device performance at all. That is why its users have no way of knowing that their smartphone is affected by software capable of damaging their social networks. So, the best thing you can do is to avoid devices that are not yours.
8. Do not share personal information
Now, in a more personal aspect and not so professional, you should also take care of your privacy on social networks.
Keep in mind that social networks are real windows to the world, so you should control as much as possible what you publish on them and what you don’t. It only takes the wrong information to fall into the wrong hands to run into a stalker on your way to work.
We recommend using Nuwber before clicking on the links sent by an unknown person. This is a very useful tool, especially whenever you need to find out some more information about another person.
Also, it is so important to keep an exhaustive track of what you post on your networks, and never post anything that could compromise your security and that of your loved ones. This includes postal addresses, telephone numbers, places of work or study, and any other similar information.
Applying these 8 tips does not guarantee 100% protection of your privacy online, but it does help you get closer to it.