10 Important Internet Habits | That Will Protect You In The Online World !!

Today Internet has become a necessity for everyone. It has now become an important part of life. Today we cannot even imagine our life without internet. Spending even one day without internet seems impossible. As the internet is becoming vast, more and more people are getting connected to it. Whether it is shopping or getting in touch with your loved ones, everything has been online today. This means our sensitive and confidential information is shared on the internet. So it is very important to be protected on the internet. It is very scary to know that 65% of people using the internet are not aware of online security. And 50% of that people don't even have a paid update internet protection (Net protector). Without security measures, our confidential information or messages can be viewed, intercepted and even stolen.

Here are some Internet habits that we can adapt to be protected on the internet.

• Always Look For A https connection:

The internet works on some basic protocols. These protocols help your computer connect to the another computer for desired purpose. Https means "Hyper text transmission protocol secured". The S means secured this basically means that we can share our personal information with that website and no would see our personal information apart from us (the sender) and the computer we are sending the data to.

Example of http and https website

• Using a 12 digits password :

This doesn't seem to be a very major step towards theft but having a 12 digit password with different keys and small capitals syllables with some numeric values can make you much more secure. Because it is very difficult to crack such password which has such combinations. And nowadays all secured websites have a limit of 3 attempts. So if someone tries to submit password more than 3 time the account will be locked instantly.

• Use a two step verification :

In the year 2016 two way verification protected 60% thefts which could happen. It gives a second layer of protection. So if someone hacks through your password layer, they will still need your phone or Security Key to get into your account.

• Never download a file from unknown source :

Whether downloading software or your favourite movies you should never download anything from unknown source. Those Files may contain malware and even Trojans which could enter you device and start uploading your personal data to attackers. When downloading applications always use verified app stores like Google Playstore for android and Apple store for iPhones

• Use a VPN connection :

Virtual private network (VPN) bounce you location and make you anonymous. This means that no one can see your location. VPN are generally used for torrenting and by journalist who are working to expose something illegal. (Note: a VPN does not make you completely anonymous. You can be traced even if you using a VPN but still it provides you a secure internet browsing.

A complete VPN network

• Never open Untrusted E-mail attachments :

60-65% percent of people get attacked online because of opening malicious file received in a mail. Attackers generally make appealing emails with offerings some offers and attach a file which contains Malware so as soon as someone opens the mail the malwares gets installed in their system and starts uploading their personal information to the attacker.

Screenshot of a spam e-mail

(TIP: If you ever receive an email with a pdf attachment but the file extension of the attachment ends with .exe never open that file they are generally malware.)

• Never use same password at all platforms :

Keep same password for all your online accounts could be very dangerous. Imagine if one of your account gets attacked and you used that same password for you banking account. This could be even more devastating if we don't take safety measures.

• Always check your internet usage :

Many Operating Systems like Windows & Linux have a built in data monitoring software which can be used to calculate the amount of data used by all the applications installed. So if any application uses much data than expected we can block that application or uninstall it.

•  Keep your system updated :

We all get annoyed with the notifications of app updates. But these updates are for our security purpose. Everyday technology is getting better and better and similarly people trying to attack our system are also getting stronger. So every time the software provider finds loopholes in their system they fix them and path those fixes in the update. So it is very important to update our softwares time-to time.

•  Never use public WiFi for Money transactions :

Public WiFi networks are open for everyone so they are not protected with WPA encryption. So they can be easily hacked and used to monitor all the traffic going through it. So When someone submits their password or bank details the data goes through the same router and the attacker can use them for thefts.