If you’re someone who spends a lot of time on the internet, you’re probably aware of the amount of scams there are out there. Chances to lose your money, your details, the use of your computer even; these are all very scary things an inexperienced user could fall into! But could you as well?
The internet is a big place, and there’s a lot of people using it day in and day out. Of course, you’re one of those people, but not everyone has intentions as pure as yours… A lot of time regulations are missed by mistake, sometimes it’s a deliberate attempt to hack you. Either way, now’s the time for you to know the ins and outs of operating safely when online. It’s not just something we need to teach the kids!
Even just a quick browse on your phone can open you up to a world of attacks. (Source)
Know What the Data Regulations Are
When you know these, you know when a site is asking a little too much of you! As a general rule, never fill in non-essential fields until you’re sure of a site’s providence. If you’re buying something online, you’re going to need to look for that SSL lock in front of the URL at least, and you’re going to need to pay attention to the full length of the terms and conditions. Yes, all two hundred or something pages of it.
If you don’t quite know what’s up, now’s the perfect time to do some research. And there’s plenty of sites to help with that too. So feel free to read up on data protection and everything else to do with it right here at https://jumio.com/about/compliance-regulations, and then go forth with the ability to spot a scam straight off the bat.
Know What Information About You is Available
It would seem social networking sites such as Facebook change their terms and conditions every other week, so make sure you’re always on top of what’s available for people to see and what isn’t. You don’t want your boss to catch a look of the party photos from last night, especially if you got a little too tipsy… And you don’t want people you’re not friends with using your photos for catfishing schemes, or present yourself as an easy target for identity theft.
Know What a Good Password Is
If you tend to use the same password for everything, now’s the time to change your habits. People can easily take control of a bunch of your accounts if they get a hold of your accounts, and we always want to minimise the damage of a hack.
If you can’t remember letter and number sequences very well, write the passwords down on a bit of paper, and the store it somewhere only you know about. Just try to make sure you’re using a few different passwords here and there.
It’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security when online.