3 Easy Steps to Improve Personal Online Security

Online safety has become a significant issue both for cybersecurity experts and casual Internet users alike. Cyberattacks happen daily, and some people aren’t aware of that because online security is still not widely discussed.

That’s why we’re drawing attention to this topic that is crucial for the well-being of anyone actively using the Internet.

Earlier this year Updateland wrote about how cybersecurity practices differ between experts vs non-experts. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people still don’t know about safe browsing.

In this article, we’d like to recommend three easy steps to improve online safety, starting with secure nordpass password generator and ending with home network security.

Password managers

Most online services are now hidden behind the password. It’s a good thing, but password management practices haven’t changed for a long time, and cybercriminals are fast to exploit that.

Weak passwords can be easily guessed, and reused passwords are a danger for multiple account security. But it’s nearly impossible to remember dozens if not hundreds long, complex, and separate passwords for each service, so what can you do?

Luckily, password managers are there to help. They have been developed some time ago, but only in the last decade grew in popularity due to rising concern about online safety.

A password manager is essentially a safe and encrypted vault that will store all your passwords for you. Instead of having to come up with a unique and strong password, you can use a password generator to produce one, then save it for the service you want to use it for in your vault.

Moreover, most password managers have an autofill function, which will automatically fill in the password instead of having to type all of those tricky symbols.

This makes the browsing experience a more comfortable and secure one, or, how the saying goes, you’re killing two birds with one stone.

Last but not least is zero-knowledge password manager architecture. This means that the vault with all the passwords is accessible only to the owner of the vault, and nobody else.

It significantly decreases the risk of a data-leak and can prevent your accounts from being stolen. If you’re still not sure whether wrong password management is a serious issue, read about credential stuffing attacks that’ve been gaining in popularity for the last couple years.
Also read: What Is Cognition’s New AI-Software “Devin AI” All About? (Complete Guide)

Use a Virtual Private Network

Another critical issue is Internet access security. These days we are accustomed to having Internet access wherever we go.

Be it our smartphone mobile data, guest Wi-Fi network at the friends’ house, or public Wi-Fi hotspot in a coffee shop – we connect to these networks without thinking whether they’ve been adequately secured.

Public Wi-Fi access points frequently become a target for hackers looking for an easy money grab.

A lot of people connect to them automatically and have no idea that a cybercriminal has infected the network and is spying on every user on it.

He or she might peak on your confidential conversations. Or – the worst-case scenario – if you’ve done some online shopping, they might even get access to your finances.

A Virtual Private Network, or a VPN, is highly recommended by numerous cybersecurity experts. This software has been developed for business data security, but soon was adapted for public use because of security benefits that it provides.

A VPN encrypts all of your online data-flow and reroutes it through one of its secured servers. Additional encryption ensures that no one can take a look at what you’re up to online.

A hacker trying to spy on your information via an infected public Wi-Fi network will only see a meaningless gibberish. With current technology, it’s nearly impossible to crack the encryption and extract valuable information.

Furthermore, rerouting the traffic through a secured no-logs server prevents your ISP from collecting your data, which is practised from the USA to China.

That’s why VPNs have become a popular cybersecurity software for those Internet users who value their online privacy. Follow this link for a list of best VPN services in 2020.

Develop safe browsing habits

According to research, 90% of data breaches are caused by human error. People are still unaware of online dangers and aren’t up-to-date with the most recent cybersecurity practices.

Hackers know this very well, and when they want to target a large business, they first target employees, which are the weakest link in the security chain.

Most often this is done via Phishing attacks. Hackers send out a bunch of emails offering a discount for the employees, or they pretend to be government officials requesting some information.

One way or the other, it’s crucial to learn to identify these false statements and raise the alarm when confronted with something suspicious.

That’s why self-education is so important. Only by reading about the latest cybercrime techniques and defences against them can one become more secure online and prevent bad things from happening.

These are just three easy steps, but they should be enough to protect your online valuables from most common cyber attacks.

Mark Lee

Mark Lee is a 32-year-old cybersecurity specialist currently managing a team in one of the largest IT-companies in Northern Germany. According to him, online security is something that is too often taken for granted by the internet community and should be taken extra seriously, especially considering that certain parts of the internet are becoming real feeding grounds for cybercriminals who are looking to exploit whatever weakness they can find.