These days we’re all part of the giant social network that is the internet. We’ve got used to sharing what we had for dinner, where we’re going on holiday and who we think will win Strictly Come Dancing but if we’re not careful the more we put online the more susceptible we become to cyber crime.
Here are some tips and tricks to keep you secure with astrasat.tv satellite broadband:
While it’s very nice you’re off on holiday for two weeks or you’ve just treated yourself to something expensive – pause before you post. You may trust your Facebook friends and Twitter followers but unless your social media accounts are private this info could be viewable by anyone who may take the opportunity to pay a visit to your empty house while you’re lounging by the pool!
Using a VPN will add an extra layer of security to your data and encrypt all your communication. Normally, when you connect to the internet, you first connect to your ISP (Internet Service Provider), which then connects you to whatever websites you visit. When you use a VPN, you connect to a server run by your VPN provider, which directs your traffic instead so any website monitoring your activity won’t know where you’re browsing from.
When it comes to online shopping, banking or any other web activity that requires you to input important private information check the site you are using is safe. Secure sites are easily recognisable by whether they have a padlock icon in the address bar or start https instead of http. That extra S means the site is using secure encryption and your data is protected.
Having hundreds of login details can be a pain but it’s better than giving cyber criminals free reign across all your online activity. Google offers a password manager function for Android and Chrome and Apple offers the Keychain option so there is no excuse not to choose strong UNIQUE passwords for your various logins and having your devices remember them means you don’t have to.
In the same way we take medicine to keep ourselves well your tech also needs looking after! Keep anti-virus software up to date to make sure your devices stay bug free and avoid clicking suspicious links that could cause malware to corrupt your computer.
It’s worth remembering though that even following all these tips, web hackers and scammers are sophisticated. If an email or pop-up offers something that seems too good to be true it probably is and if something doesn’t look right it’s best to err on the side of caution and avoid giving any personal information or payment details.
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