5 Tips to Stay Safe Online

Basic guidelines to safeguard your personal and business data online

The ability to remain connected to carry out work and keep informed —as well as to shop, engage in leisure activities, and exercise, has been keeping us sane through these surreal times of social distancing.
Video conferencing, online chats, and virtual celebrations on the numerous available platforms (Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, etc.) are welcome daily occurrences, and social media is one way to keep us close to friends, colleagues, and loved ones. So far, no one has taken this connection to the outside world away from us, and that is a reassuring thing. Yet, with so much online activity that requires a great deal of personal and business information online, we are also potentially exposed to security threats.

Now more than ever, we need to observe safety guidelines when we are online. A small list is included below:

1. Security in Zoom calls

Recent advice given by Wordfence about security on Zoom calls applies to all video conferencing activities. Keep Zoom software up to date to fix bugs and issues. Watch out for invites by unknown senders—don't click on a link in an email but copy out the URL.
If provided with one, use the password. If you are the host, set Zoom's controls so you alone can share images and screens with others. Make your meetings password-protected and locked so that no new users can get in. Also, enable the waiting room feature to verify all your guests before the start.

2. Passwords

Rules to observe when setting passwords:
Do not use personal information.
Do not use real words.
Create longer passwords.
Modify easy-to-remember phrases.
Don't' forget to use different passwords on different accounts, including social media.
Set up security answers. This option is available for most social media sites.
Password protect your device if you have social media apps on your phone.
Change all your passwords regularly.
Do not type passwords on devices or networks you do not control.

To make it even harder for hackers to crack your security, use two-factor authentication (2FA) if you can.

3. System updates

Install operating system updates as soon as they are made available as they may contain essential fixes, protection against viruses, spyware, and other malware. An up to date system will not only protect you from cybercrime attacks but also fix generally poor performance.
As mentioned, update all your apps whenever you can and keep an up to date version of your antivirus software.

4. App privacy settings

Many apps require a lot of our data to work for us. Hence the need to consciously check and configure all app privacy settings. As a rule, you should always share the least data possible. Don't forget social channels you signed up for and then forgot about—these unattended social accounts are bait for hackers.

"You probably spend a lot of your day inside apps: catching up on the news, playing music and movies, keeping in touch with friends, racing cartoon characters around a track, and so on,” Casey Chin from Wired explains. “Every once in awhile, though, it's worth running an audit on these apps to make sure they're not overreaching and going beyond their remit—collecting more data about you and controlling more of your devices than you'd like."

5. Be careful about what you share

It seems obvious, but many people forget this rule: don't reveal sensitive personal information. Your home address, but also addresses you visit often, should not be shared freely, as much as financial details of all types and phone numbers—your own, other people's, and work numbers. Keep your date of birth, wedding, birth, and graduation announcements off the public domain. In our quest to upload and share photos with the world, remember they may contain a lot of clues and information that could put you, your family, and your friends unwillingly at risk.

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