4 Mistakes that Expose Your Data to Hackers

Ah, the web. It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it? Full of information and digital connections at every turn. Unfortunately, you can never truly know who is on the other end of those connections or where those connections are going. There exists a small window of opportunity for your data to be compromised online with so many shady apps and third-party tools out there.

You might have heard of the term “hackers”. You might even imagine them to be the ones who sit in front of the computer all day and try to copy your password. That’s not the case at all. Hackers are basically people who know their way around technology and find vulnerabilities in it so that they can steal your data. That is why online privacy is important and why you need to be careful about the basics if not the advanced details of online data protection. This is a blog that gives you tips about how to make your data secure from various threats by avoiding simple, easy mistakes.

Connecting to an open network

On a public network, hackers can “sniff” the traffic and use it to steal personal information or implant malware.

The first thing you notice is the free Wi-Fi. You’re in a coffee shop, airport or hotel, and you want to get some work done or, more likely, just check your Facebook feed. But while logging on to an open network can be convenient, it’s a risk to your privacy and security.

Without a password, anyone else on that network has the same ability as you do to see what you’re doing online. And what you do online is rarely as harmless as just checking Facebook. You might be entering your credit card number to buy something on Amazon or giving away personal information like your name or address when filling out a form — all of which can be stolen by someone sitting nearby.

Even without going that far, hackers can install malware that tracks everything you type online and sends it back to them — including passwords for other sites like your bank account.

Revealing too much personal information on social media.

Cybercriminals use the information you share on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to create a more complete picture of who you are and what you like. They can then use this information to trick you into clicking links or opening attachments in fraudulent emails. With online gaming becoming so prevalent, people can even fall prey to scams that some people run on online gaming communities.

Remember, if it’s public, it’s no longer private. Sharing too much personal information on social media may also make it easier for criminals to guess the answers to security questions used by many websites for password recovery purposes. Be cautious about what personal information you reveal on your public profile page.

A lot of folks who are extremely active on social media also suffer from problems like digital identity theft because they either don’t know about any reliable online privacy service or they’re just too ignorant to be careful.

Getting driven by click baits and click them

Clickbait is the junk food of online content. It’s cheap, it’s easy to make and it gets your attention. But it’s not good for you. Clickbait titles are written to get as many clicks as possible, even when the content inside is misleading or entirely unrelated to the title. This tactic can also be used when crafting an email subject line or a malicious link in a text message.

There are two basic types of clickbait: “curiosity gaps” and false hope.

Curiosity gaps leave out key information in the title in order to pique your curiosity enough that you have to click the link. A headline like, “You Won’t Believe How Much Money They Found Buried In The Backyard,” doesn’t tell you whether they found a dollar bill or buried treasure, so readers want to know more and click on the story.

False hope promises a solution to a problem, but it can’t deliver on its promise with one click. A headline like, “This Weird Trick Can Help You Cure Cancer In Five Minutes,” creates an expectation that can’t possibly be met once you click through — because no such cure exists.

Skipping software updates

Many people put off updating the operating system on their phone or computer, because they don’t want to wait around for the update to download and install. It’s understandable, but it’s also dangerous (not to mention incredibly annoying). Software updates are released for a reason — usually to patch security vulnerabilities that have been found in the existing version of the software. By skipping these updates, you’re leaving yourself open to hackers who may exploit those vulnerabilities without any warning.

In Conclusion

We’ve been living in the digital world for so long now that most of us have become careless. Based on our daily routine, what we do is to just connect to the internet, log-in and then idle before finally disconnecting it. This manner instilled in our minds that the internet is safe. But we have to keep in mind that this isn’t entirely true. The fact is that some users have bad intentions behind their online anonymity.