30/09/2016
Remember, nothing is hack-proof. All you can do is make it as difficult as possible for a hacker to compromise your online identity.
Here are a few things you can do to help secure your online identity from getting hacked.
Create a strong password!
A strong password has:
1. at least 15 characters
2. uppercase letters
3. lowercase letters
4. numbers
5. symbols, such as ` ! " ? $ ? % ^ & * ( ) _ - + = { [ } ] : ; @ ' ~ # | \ < , > . ? /
6. Use 2-step authentication whenever it is available. This truly is the last line of defense.
A strong password is not:
• your login or username
• your name, your friend’s name, your family member’s name, or a common name
• a dictionary word (god, password, etc…)
• like your previous passwords
• your date of birth
• a keyboard pattern, such as qwerty, asdfghjkl, or 12345678
Once you create these passwords, use an encrypted cross platform app which you can access on your mobile devices as well as PCs at any given time with a master password, this way you don’t have to remember zillions of passwords. Couple of the best ones out there are http://keepass.info/ and https://www.dashlane.com/
Do NOT use the same password for other accounts, create a new one for each online account that you have.
Especially take good care creating a strong password for your email accounts since they are used to reset your current password.
Use a mobile phone number to further secure your account so that the system can send you messages to recover or reset your password or when your account is being attempted to be hacked.
Many online accounts require you to create a security question and answer for your profile. This can be a security threat more than an identification tool. Someone you know, who has your personal information like which street you spent your childhood in, your first primary school teacher’s name, your first pet’s name, your best friend’s name and other personal information can easily gain access to your account just by answering these questions. So give false answers to these questions and write these false answers in a secure encrypted file location where only you have access.
Always use an anti-virus software which is up-to-date. Refrain from opening files or clicking on links in emails that you receive that look fishy, asking for you to login to your account, even from companies and people that you know, since their computer might have been compromised as well or it could be a phishing email, for example the hacker will create an email which looks exactly like your bank’s emails and have you click on the email link, and go to a site which looks just like your bank’s login, but in actuality, it will be the hacker’s site, and you will literally hand over your login data. How can you know which one is real? Just look at the top and scroll all the way to the left of the address bar and make sure that the domain name belongs to your bank’s.
With these few tips, hopefully, you too will be able to secure your online identity.
