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This week is Get Safe Online Week in the UK, and to help protect yourself and your family from the dangers of the web, Kaspersky have put together a hand guide.
Check out these top tips from Kaspersky Lab’s senior researcher David Emm for staying safe online:
1. Got protection? – This may seem obvious, but security software is the new ‘black’. It helps you stay fully protected against malware, spyware, hackers and identity theft. And don’t forget to perform regular updates and scans.
2. Password strength matters – Use secure passwords – a different one for each Internet service. Set passwords to include 8-14 upper and lower case characters and numbers. Don’t use any words that are in the dictionary as they’re too easy for hackers to guess.
3. Protect your family – You stop your children from talking to strangers on the street and you should do so online too. Be aware of the potential dangers of the net from online bullying to paedophiles. Take parental control over the sites you don’t what your children to look at by using the parental control feature in your online security product – it’s an easy way to avoid disaster.
4. Click with care – If you’re checking your email or talking over instant messenger, make it a practice to avoid clicking on links in messages from people you don’t know. These links could lead you to a malicious website and result in malware installing on your computer.
5. Practise safe online shopping – When you’re going to buy those new killer shoes or the latest toy for your tyke, make sure you purchase from a reputable online retailer. You always look for a URL that starts with "https" and have the lock symbol when entering your credit card details or other personal information.
6. Socialise safely – By now, we’ve all had a bad link or two sent to us over our favourite social network. Utilise your social network’s security settings to their optimum level. Do you really need to display every detail about your life? And perhaps more importantly – do your children?
7. Keep your privates private – A good rule of thumb: Don’t post anything online that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of your local newspaper! This includes your personal phone number, email address and street address, your holiday plans – and maybe also your bikini-clad, beach holiday pics.
8. Stomp out spam – Most internet service providers and security software programs have anti-spam technologies. The spam blocker will help prevent fraudulent emails from showing up in your inbox tempting you with fake lottery wins or promising certain body-part enlargements.
9. Be careful how you surf – Open wireless networks are called ‘open’ for a reason: anyone can connect, including hackers. If you do have to use one, use a password manager to store passwords and enter them for you automatically. This will prevent data being captured by cybercriminals using a keylogger. Only enter personal information on secure sites – look for the “https”
10. Handle personal information with care – Beware of online sites that ask you to enter too much personal data. Read the small print – they may be selling on your personal details to third parties resulting in even more email spam and cold calls.
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