Data privacy is a hot topic for all the wrong reasons, people put more of their lives online than ever before, and vulnerabilities mean that sensitive information can bestolen and misused in a number of ways.
To help you avoid falling victim of the most widespread types of data theft, here is a look at the most common types of breach.
Poor password choice & illicitly traded login details
A weak password used to protect web-based accounts on everything from social networking platforms to e-commerce sites and beyond can make it possible for hackers to crack in and purloin your data through brute force techniques alone.
Likewise if one of the services you use suffers a breach, your login details could be sold on the dark web and used to compromise other accounts, if you re-use passwords elsewhere. This is why it makes sense to harness solutions designed to defend against such identity-compromising issues, like Identity Guard’s protection software.
You should also foster good password habits, not only creating stronger login phrases by randomizing strings on different sites.
Malicious software
Malware remains a major problem, and it can infect devices through multiple avenues, often operating in the background without the user knowing that it is even present.
Read: Your worst nightmare, Malware on Android devices
The most common places for malware to originate are phishing sites and emails, which intend to dupe innocent victims into believing that they are genuine and associated with legitimate brands, while secretly being a vehicle through which dangerous code can be installed.
Avoiding untrusted websites and filtering your email thoroughly, while avoiding opening unsolicited messages, will keep you safer. Likewise installing an up to date antivirus service on your PC, laptop and smartphone will give you active protection.
Social engineering via phone or email
Many people are tricked into giving away their data and even sending money to groups of fraudsters through a range of social engineering techniques. These can include emails purporting to have some once-in-a-lifetime offer in store for the lucky recipient, as well as scam technical support calls that target vulnerable individuals and convince them they need to pay to have some phony hardware, software or network fault fixed.
Staying abreast of the latest social engineering scams is sensible, and avoiding deals that are too good to be true should also be one of your strategies.
Read: What Does a Proxy Hide : a Complete Guide
Out of date software
The final noteworthy way in which data can be stolen is by hackers that leverage known security loopholes in older versions of popular software platforms, such as web browsers and operating systems.
This is why developers release such frequent patches and security updates, each of which will address new vulnerabilities as they are unearthed by researchers.
Endeavour to keep all of your devices up to date, rather than putting off the installation of some new patch or fix, so that you can shield your data effectively while using the web.
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