In order to protect your company’s data from hackers and keep up with the increasing number of processes moving to the Cloud, it’s critical to strengthen your cybersecurity.
Without considering the risks you’re subjecting yourself to, it’s possible to become comfortable online. As more and more systems and operations move to the Cloud, the internet is becoming a very dangerous place. Better methods of preventing hackers from accessing computers are being developed by both individuals and businesses.
Now more than ever, there is a risk of being hacked for business or personal data. It is imperative to safeguard all of your data and to train your staff on how to avoid phishing emails, malware, and other hacking techniques.
The best strategies to protect yourself from hacking are listed below:
Use Strong Passwords
Using simple passwords for your crucial accounts puts you at a higher risk of getting hacked. The reason why so many people are compromised is that the hacker has access to enough information about them to develop a password cracking algorithm or just guess their passwords.
If you consistently use the same password across all of your accounts, several of them will be vulnerable to compromise if a hacker successfully guesses your password.
The ideal way to make a secure password for your personal accounts is to include lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbol characters. There are typically more than 8 characters needed for a good password. You should refrain from using your birthday, first or last name, pet or family member names, hometown or place of birth, street name, or even your name. Why? Hackers can quickly track down each of these bits of data.
The issue is that, let’s face it, we forget to put our passwords in a secure location and most individuals find it quite challenging to remember multiple passwords.
You might want to choose a password manager if you fall into that category. It has the ability to create secure passwords for you and store them in a secure location. In the event that you use GSuite, Google also comes with a built-in password manager.
Always enable two-factor authentication
Particularly if you use weak passwords, many hackers have software that they can use to break them. Considering implementing two-factor authentication is crucial because of this (2FA).
It makes sense to use two-factor authentication (2FA, also known as 2-step verification) for your personal passwords as most platforms these days have made the switch. A password alone won’t suffice to authenticate your ownership of the account when two-factor authentication is used.
This implies that in order to gain access to the account, you will need both a password and a unique key. Every time you enter your password in a website that uses two-factor authentication, a unique code is delivered to your mobile device to assist you in logging in.
In other words, even if a hacker manages to crack your password, it won’t be useful unless the unique code is given to your own personal mobile device.
Use a reliable VPN
A VPN is a tool that allows you to protect your connection while surfing the Internet. With a VPN – Virtual Private Network – you can hide your IP and encrypt all the data you send or receive over the Internet, making it inaccessible to third parties trying to intercept your connection.
Cybersecurity experts say that using a reliable VPN is one of the least costly and best measures to avoid being hacked. However, they add that using a free VPN can be very dangerous due to the fact that many people are using the same server. So don’t make the mistake of using a free VPN when you can ensure your online security by spending just a few dollars a month. Surfshark has servers in Australia, so you won’t experience any slow internet speeds when you connect: https://surfshark.com/servers/australia
Don’t link your accounts together
People frequently link their individual accounts to one another for convenience. Although it could make things simpler for you when attempting to connect to other sites, it can have extremely serious consequences if your account is compromised.
You could be tempted, for instance, to connect your Netflix and credit card accounts with your Facebook account. This implies, however, that if the hacker is successful in accessing your Facebook account, they will have no trouble accessing your bank information.
Even while it may be annoying to have to remember a different password each time you want to access a specific platform, doing so is still considered safer than having the majority of your personal information at risk of hacking.