When using the internet you are leaving yourself vulnerable to different
security issues such as; malware, cyber-criminal lurks, cyberbullying and
credit card thefts to name a few. The increased security risk has become a
major concern to all globally. Most of the digital users forget to keep
themselves safe on the net by forgetting not to always share all their personal
details such as their address and phone numbers. Teenagers are especially more
vulnerable due to bullying from their peers and them seeing the net as a safe
place to just chill and forget about their life troubles; this leads them to
trusting the wrong people and anyone looking to listen to them.
We never stop to think of the risks of T&C’s, we usually
simply just press the agree button without even reading what we are agreeing
to. Unknowingly we are giving companies the right to use our information for
other purposes. We are so ignorant to the point that we don’t even realize that
our data is being recorded and kept sometimes eve sold. The only way to
possibly combat this issue is to set your private setting to the highest
possible level and giving minimal personal information.
Types of cyber-crimes:
Phishing/Spoofing
“The fraudulent practice of sending
emails pretending to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals
to reveal personal information”.
Protect your computer with a firewall, spam filters,
anti-virus and anti-spyware software
Be cautious of emails from unrecognized
senders.
Do not click on links, download files or open attachments in
emails from unknown senders
Beware of links in emails that ask for personal information.
Never email personal or financial information, even if you are
close with the recipient
Copyright Infringement
The use of works protected by copyright law without
permission.
Avoid taking anything from the internet because it almost
always is copyrighted by default.
Rather always try to be creative than copying.
In case of movies or music rather always buy from
trustworthy websites to be on the safe side.
Child Pornography
Any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving
a minor (someone under 18 years of age).
Sites and search results should be blocked permanently to
prevent pedophiles from sharing or accessing those videos.
Identity theft
Criminals access data about someone’s bank account, credit
cards, debit card and other sensitive information to withdraw money or to buy
things online in the victim’s name.
When conducting online transactions, look for a sign that
the site is secure such as a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a
“https:”
Cyber-bullying
“Cyber-bullying is the harmful use of the Internet and related
technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile
manner”.
Cyber bullying can be stopped by: not responding to the bully, not
retaliating, keeping the evidence of the whole bullying, reporting the bully
and lastly by simply blocking the bully.
Hacking
When someone’s computer is broken into so that his personal
or sensitive information can be accessed. The criminal uses a variety of
software to enter the person’s computer and the person may not be aware that
his computer is being accessed from a remote location.
Always check permissions on the apps before installing and
make sure they aren’t accessing unnecessary information. Use a VPN.
Use secure website; it displays the green lock sign by it.
This is otherwise known as HTTPS, and it encrypts the data that passes from
your device to the internet server, meaning any hackers can’t decipher your
private information.
Change all passwords regularly and not use the same
passwords across many different services.
