Date First Published: 26th January 2022
Topic: Cybersecurity
Subtopic: Security Mechanisms & Technologies
Article Type: Computer Questions & Answers
Difficulty: EasyDifficulty Level: 3/10
The internet has become so widely used. As of now, it is possible to use the internet for almost anything, such as online shopping, banking, downloading apps and software, looking at the news, and more. Very few people have no internet access. However, over time, that popularity has increased the risks of security issues, such as viruses, malware, fraud, phishing, and more. There are a lot of ways that you can stay safe online in general. The 11 general tips below should help you to avoid security risks and stay safe whilst on the internet.
Although some of the information that you read on the internet is true, there is a lot of misinformation online and you shouldn't believe everything that you read. It is important to note that anyone can put something online and there isn't someone that fact checks everything before it gets published. If something that you have read online sounds absolutely crazy, very difficult to believe, or gets a strong emotional reaction out of you, then it is likely that the information is false or at least a little misleading. Misinformation can be harmful, especially if it is about something serious. For more information about how to spot misinformation online, see this article.
One of the most common ways that computers catch viruses is by downloading and running programs from unknown websites. You should only download programs from websites that you absolutely trust as there are a lot of malicious websites that distribute viruses and malware. A common way of distributing malware is by people disguising malicious programs as legitimate programs. For example, someone might disguise a program that actually installs malware as something safe or useful to trick people into running it and mislead them of its true intent. For more information about how to tell if a download is safe, see this article.
A good way to check whether a website is safe is to perform a scan on VirusTotal and Norton Safe Web. These maintain lists of websites that are known to distribute malware or other unwanted software and will tell you whether it is reputable or not.
Most downloaded files are downloaded as a zip file in order to prevent them from automatically running. It is only possible to get a virus from a program (EXE file) if it is opened and ran. For example, if an EXE file was programmed to install a virus, the only way that you would be able to get that virus is if you opened and ran it. The easiest way to check whether an EXE file contains malware is to scan it with your antivirus software and upload it to VirusTotal. VirusTotal uses the scan results from almost every antivirus to scan a file for viruses. You will have to unzip the folder, but you should be fine unzipping the folder as you are not actually running it. A virus or a trojan can do nothing unless you run the program. The built-in antivirus that is on Windows 10 automatically scans downloaded files.
This is not to say that you should not open any EXE file, but if you have received an unexpected one from someone you don't know, such as from an email attachment or a website that looks suspicious, then do not open it. This is because these types of files run code as soon as they are opened and can be programmed to perform malicious actions.
You should never reveal or share any of your personal information publicly. This includes your physical address, bank details, passwords, school, or workplace, especially to someone that you know online and have never met in person. Exposing your personal details puts yourself at a huge risk.
It doesn't matter how well you may think you know someone online. You can never be too sure of who they really are or if they're dangerous. Someone that you know online might not be who they say they are. An example of a common place for scammers is onlinedating sites, especially free ones. A common technique that is used by a fraudster to get hold of your bank details in order to commit fraud is them making up a situation, like saying that someone has died and that they need some money, or that they need to move your money to a safe account. They want you to believe them and give away your bank details so they can access your bank account and actually move the money to their account.
Phone calls are another way of fraudsters tricking people into giving them their bank details so that they can spend their money. Usually, they will make up a scenario, such as saying that your bank account has been hacked into and then they will ask for your PIN number. Banks will never ask you for your full PIN number, but another technique that is used by fraudsters is to ask for the first and third digits of your PIN number, say that they didn't understand that, and then ask for the second and fourth digits of your PIN number, allowing them to get your full PIN number. If you are unsure whether it is really your bank calling you or sending you that text/email, you should contact them as soon as possible.
Also, if you have any social media accounts, it's always best to limit the amount of information you share and keep your profile private rather than visible to the public. Although social media posts can be deleted, they can always be screenshotted and shared by people all around the world. Before posting, always consider whether what you are posting is something that you wouldn't mind if everyone saw. If not, then refrain from posting it.
Such surveys often only intend to collect your personal information or sell your data to third parties. It is never a good idea to give your personal information to a website that you don't know. Companies make money when people fill out surveys, so they promise people a chance of winning a free product in order to get them to fill them out and the chances of winning the free product are usually extremely low.
These types of surveys are commonly found in fake online generators that claim to generate unlimited money for games. Not real money, the money inside the game, like coins. These generators are extremely likely to be scams and are often only designed to get hold of people's personal information or install malware. Some games store the progress of users on their servers, so if you see an online generator that claims to generate unlimited money for that type of game, you know that it is fake as modifying the data of other users in the game would require people to compromise their servers.
Unless an email provider allows scripting, it is not possible to get a virus from simply reading an email message through a web browser. No secure email provider will allow scripting. Attachments are where all of the viruses spread. You should never open any unknown email attachments that you were never expecting. Such attachments could contain viruses or malicious code. If you see an email attachment in your inbox that is from a sender that you've never heard of and looks suspicious, it is highly recommended that you don't open it and delete it. For more information about whether it is possible to get a virus just by opening an email message, see this article.
A password is a word that you keep to yourself and use to access an online account. The qualities of a strong password are:
Strong passwords reduce the chance of them being easily guessed, which also reduces the chance of unauthorised access to your online accounts. A mix of numbers, characters, and symbols will make the password as strong as possible. Never use easily guessable or common passwords, such as ‘123’ or ‘password’. An idea for a password is shortening a phrase that you will remember and replacing some of the letters with numbers (e.g. ‘how to stay safe online’ will become ‘h0wtost4ys4fe0nl1n3’.)
Using a different password for each login is strongly recommended. Avoid reusing passwords as if someone correctly guessed your password, they would also know the passwords to all of your other accounts. A password manager can be used to help you remember these passwords.
Two-factor authentication could also be used for even more security as this usually sends a verification code to an email address or phone number. Even if someone knew the password to an account, they would not be able to gain access to the account.
Antivirus software should at least be enabled for your computer. Antivirus software is used for preventing viruses, trojans, worms, or backdoors from installing on your computer and removing any existing infections. Your antivirus software should have real-time protection and a firewall. In addition, you should run a regular scan. On most modern operating systems, like Windows 10, there is actually no need to install another antivirus, since they already have built-in antiviruses, called Windows Defender.
But, if you do decide to install an another antivirus on your computer, be very careful where you get it from as there have been lots of fake antiviruses (rogue security software) that trick you into thinking that you have viruses and malware on your computer when you actually don't.
Also, make sure to keep your antivirus up to date. Keeping an antivirus program up to date is very important as the latest updates of antiviruses contain the latest files, which are required for detecting the latest threats. Windows Defender Antivirus automatically updates itself.
Before purchasing an item online or downloading programs from a website, you should always make sure that the website is trustworthy. A well-known website that is used for checking whether a website is trustworthy is Trustpilot. If you can't find any reviews on Trustpilot, there might be some on other review websites. Below is a small checklist for determining whether a website is trustworthy.
For more information on how to tell if a website is trustworthy/legitimate, see this article.
An internet troll is a person online who intentionally causes disruption by posting off-topic, upsetting, controversial, or disturbing content or messages in order to get a reaction out of people. Internet trolls often troll on comment boards, forums, social media, chatrooms, or anything else that allows people to communicate by typed messages. When trolling becomes continuous and is targeted towards someone, it can become a form of cyberbullying.
Responding to internet trolls, defending, or standing up for yourself is always a bad idea since it usually brings even more attention to the situation and could lead to long arguments. Internet trolls could use anything that users post as a response to harass them even more. Every time you respond to internet trolls, you are giving them what they want - attention. Instead, it is always a better idea to ignore and limit contact with trolls who purposefully cause disruption. Responding to internet trolls is known as 'feeding' the trolls.
Technical support scams often impersonate other companies (most commonly Microsoft) and trick people into thinking that their computers have problems when they actually don't. The scammer often scares users into installing unnecessary and potentially dangerous programs to fix a non-existent problem so that they can get hold of their details, take control of their computers, install difficult-to-remove malware, and perform other malicious tasks. Whenever you come across a technical support scam, you should follow the steps below:
This is the final tip. It is not absolutely necessary to use a VPN as they usually result in a slower internet connection, since the VPN has to also encrypt the traffic. However, when you browse the internet, your IP address is publicly visible and can reveal details about your network and location, such as your ISP, town and city (not your exact location), and sometimes your postcode.
Your IP address could also be used to track your online activities by third parties, such as the pages of a website that you visited, how long you spent on those pages, and what you visited before. With a VPN, the IP address will occasionally change, reducing the chances of third parties tracking your browsing habits. People that are concerned about their online privacy often use a VPN.
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