Mumbai: In the beginning, the Internet was immensely friendly — early users needed tech geeks just to get online, and they had to do so over a wired, dial-up connection. Between those online pioneers' savvy and the relatively few other Internet users, online behaviour with regard to security was not a headline issue.
Flash forward to the present and the world of ubiquitous Wi-Fi and social networking.
Connecting is so easy that toddlers can tap around the Web on a tablet; great-grandparents can get online, anywhere, without even realizing it; we can buy, sell, bank, work, and socialise online; and the entire ecosystem is rife with dangers and malefactors. We often talk about needing to be more careful than ever, but it's never been easier to be careless.
With that in mind, here are seven things, many of which are common behaviours or easy traps people walk into every day, to stop doing immediately. A not-to-do list, if you will.
Trusting open Wi-Fi: An open Wi-Fi is a huge risk — a trust you place in the network's legitimacy. For example, criminals may create a Wi-Fi hotspot and name it something plausible, like "McDonalds open Wi-Fi" or "Hotel Guest 3." Then, let's say you've made sure an open Wi-Fi network is really what it appears to be. That doesn't mean it's safe - it means that "network: librarywifi; password: ReadBooks!" really belongs to library, not that criminals aren't lurking on that network. If you must use the network, do so as safely as possible: avoid visiting sites that require a login, and especially avoid any financial transactions. No banking, no shopping. If possible, use a VPN.
Choosing simple, guessable passwords: Pets' names, birthdays, family names, and the likes make for supremely insecure passwords. Instead, start with things other people are unlikely to guess. Try something like "ML)k[V/u,p%mA+5m" — some random string you'll never remember. Try some techniques from Kaspersky Password Checker to create strong passwords that are easy to memorise.
Reusing passwords: So, you've chosen an awesome new password. Strong like bull. Easy to remember, hard to crack. Guess what? You're going to need more passwords. Because although yes, you could certainly be the victim of a hacker who guesses your password, the odds are much better that your login credentials will be compromised in some gigantic database hack. And if one login name and password opens your e-mail, bank account, Amazon, Facebook…well, you get the idea.
Clicking links in e-mails: Clickable links in e-mails are not a good idea. Clicking on a link in spam or phishing e-mails may take you to a site that automatically downloads malware to your PC or to a site that looks familiar but steals your password. At the very least, clicking will confirm to spammers that a person opened the message — it lets them know they found a victim, and will send you more.
Bonus: Stop clicking on Facebook like-farming links. 'Like and Share to win an iPhone!' is a perfect example. At best, you merely won't win anything, but it's safe to say you will be helping out scammers and validating shady businesses practices, and there's always the risk of getting foxed into installing malware.
Providing login credentials to anyone: The only way to be sure no one malicious — or clueless — has your info is to keep it entirely to yourself.
Letting the Internet know you'll be out of town: “At the beach for two weeks — jealous?” “Goin' to Mexico mañana!” “Can someone take Rover while we're out of town next week?” How about geo-tagged photos that show viewers where they were taken? Keep that information among trusted friends only — especially on networks such as Facebook that show your location out of town.
Accepting social media's default settings: Social media networks give you control over the information you broadcast. But you may have to dig to find the settings, and they often change. Before you sign up, take 5 minutes to comb through privacy and security settings. Set aside a few minutes every month to confirm you're sharing info only with people you choose.
