In honor of upcoming Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October) and National Internet Day, we’ve compiled our best Internet safety tips to help you stay safe online.
Because while haunted houses and horror movies may be scary, experiencing a cyberattack is even more frightening.
10 Ways to Stay Safe Online
According to Zippia, one in every three individuals experiences a digital breach yearly. In our increasingly digital world, cybersecurity awareness is more important than ever to protect yourself, your valuable information, and your assets.
Use these 10 Internet safety tips to prevent common cybersecurity threats, such as phishing scams, ransomware attacks, viruses, and more.
✅ Discern Before Downloading
Be suspicious of unsolicited emails, messages, or texts, and never open attachments or links from unknown senders.
Cybercriminals often trick people into downloading malware by disguising it as something else—this type of social engineering attack is known as “phishing.”
If you receive a message from an organization you don’t recognize or that is unexpected, take the following precautions:
- Inspect the sender’s email address for red flags, such as a misspelled name or an incorrect domain.
- Hover over links—if the URL looks suspicious, don’t click on it.
- Confirm the validity of the message and sender through a trusted channel.
✅ Protect Your Passwords
Start by creating strong passwords with a variety of character types.
Avoid using common words, phrases, and personal information like a birth date or a pet’s name. A password manager can easily create, store, and protect passwords.
Then, practice good password hygiene by:
- Creating a unique login for every platform
- Updating passwords every 30-90 days
- Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA)
✅ Close Abandoned Accounts
You likely have a handful (or more) of active accounts for sites and apps that you rarely or never access. Cybercriminals can gather information about you using data from various unsecured accounts.
Create a list of old accounts you’ve made and ensure the ones you no longer use are closed out. The fewer personal profiles you have online, the less opportunity thieves have to extract your information.
✅ Validate Before Paying
Protecting your financial assets and identity is critical when making an online transaction. Start by ensuring you use a secure WiFi connection, then follow the following safety tips.
To validate if an e-commerce site or payment portal is secure:
- Check for a small lock symbol in front of the site’s URL
- Confirm that the URL begins with HTTPS
To ensure safety while transacting through payment platforms like Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, and PayPal:
- Be wary of unsolicited payments or requests for money
- Only exchange money with people you know and trust
- Confirm the receiver’s identity before transferring funds
✅ Limit Social Sharing
Be cautious about oversharing personal details on social media. Personally identifiable information to avoid includes your:
- Home address
- Workplace
- School
- Phone number
- Birthday
It’s also advisable to set social media accounts to private so you can control who can view your profile, send you messages, and interact with your posts.
✅ Look Out for Fake Profiles
False profiles can be found nearly anywhere, from social media to gaming sites to dating apps. These can be used as phishing scams to collect personal or financial data and other more sinister crimes.
Be careful about who you communicate with online, and validate a person’s identity before you share any information.
✅ Deny Third-Party Access
Many mobile applications allow users to sign in using third-party apps like their Facebook account or Apple ID. This makes your profile information vulnerable, so creating a separate login is worth the extra step.
If you enable third-party logins, check the terms and conditions to see what permissions you allow.
Avoid red flags such as the ability to post on your behalf and access to view or share your personal information.
✅ Be Smart With Your Smart Devices
Internet of Things (IoT) devices, like smart speakers, doorbells, security systems, and refrigerators, are becoming increasingly popular in homes. However, retailers often ship them with minimal security provisions, making it easy to hack into the devices and the networks they’re connected to.
Take these steps to protect your information when using smart devices:
- Purchase from a reputable manufacturer
- Change the default passwords during device setup
- Install firmware updates regularly
- Limit device permissions to only access necessary information
✅ Use a VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts a device’s browsing data by routing it through a remote server rather than a public network. A VPN is essential if you connect to public WiFi at coffee shops, hotels, or airports.
A VPN can also give you peace of mind and improve Internet safety in your home.
Plus, with a VPN, your Internet service provider cannot access or sell your data—some familiar and inexpensive VPN service providers include ExpressVPN, Surf Shark, and NordVPN.
✅ Install Anti-Virus Software
Antivirus software can detect and remove common malware, protecting your browsing devices. Don’t skip this essential Internet safety tip. Use free resources like McAfee Security Scan, Microsoft Safety Scanner, and Webroot Secure Anywhere Antivirus.
Learn Cybersecurity Skills and Become a Pro
If you feel passionate about Internet safety, a career in cybersecurity may be right for you.
By learning cybersecurity skills, you’ll know how to keep individuals and organizations safe from ever-evolving cyber threats. Becoming a cybersecurity professional opens the door to various exciting career paths.