Last week, on February 8th, the world celebrated Safe Internet Day. The celebration aimed to ensure that the internet is used in a safer, reliable, and creative manner. It also emphasized the inevitability of using the internet and technologies in a respectful and responsible manner. Something that contributes to the better good of humanity.
While paying tribute to Safe Internet Day, we have gathered five simple and efficient tips that will help you and your family in keeping safe online:
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Passwords are the Key; Be as Creative as Possible
It is not unheard of that your password is the only gateway to your online presence. Be it with Google accounts or social media platforms, it is your password that disallows hackers to trespass into your accounts.
That is why, it is crucial for you to educate your family about the importance of having a strong and creative password. To easily remember your passwords, make use of certain apps that remember your passwords.
Teach your family to use 2 step verification, authenticator apps, and phone call verifications. Ultimately, this will help you and your family stay safe online.
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Make Your Social Media Privacy Stubborn
Social media platforms are very likely to be vulnerable to attacks. Hackers usually browse through your Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok profile and gather all of your personal information.
That is why, educate your children to make social media privacy stubborn. Social media platforms give ample options to the users on revealing and keeping personal information. So, it is crucial for you that your family is aware of that and has strong privacy on social media.
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Never Click on Suspicious and Scammy Websites
Hackers generally send out emails with hyperlinks to their suspicious and scammy websites. A simple and efficient way to know if a website is scammy or not is to closely check the link. If the link is “https” with an “S” at the end, it means it is secure. On the other hand, if the website link has no “S” like “http” or any other domain, the website is suspicious and scammy.
Likewise, you can also have an idea of the website by checking the domain. Meaning, or you on the website “brand.com” or “retailer.buy.com?” If you are on the latter one, you are on a suspicious website. Likewise, you can check for contact information on the bottom of the website, review image quality, and logos to see if the website is genuine.
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Be Aware of Cold Calls and Spam Emails
Cold calls that often offer “amazing deals and discounts” are scams. According to a report from the BBC, 42% of Americans were scammed by cold callers in 2021. Turns out that these cold callers were telemarketers who pitched the prospects “amazing deals” and turned the cold calls into scams. That is why, you have to be aware of cold calls to avoid any major scams with you and your family.
Likewise, you need to pay keen attention to spam emails. Scammers send out spam emails with embedded links, malware, attachments, and the urgency of resetting your account.
To avoid any of the above damages, educate your family to:
- Not to give your personal information, like Drivers License Number, Social Security, or Credit Card details.
- To keenly filter spam emails.
- Not to install any software or app from unknown emails.
- To avoid clicking on emails that contain hyperlinks, malware, or unknown attachments.