As more and more people continue to use the internet we are starting to see more and more cyber criminals try and take advantage of this. It seems every time you turn on the news all you hear about is how this company got hacked into and how the criminals stole the personal information of thousands of their customers. With the increased cybercrime it is essential that you do all you can to protect yourself when using the internet. Let’s take a look at a few things that can help keep you safe online.

The Hackers love to steal your passwords and use any personal or financial information they gain to their advantage. Therefore, password security is very important. Let’s take a look at a few ways to keep your passwords safe. First, do not use the same password for all of your online accounts. Try and use a different password for each account. I know it is easy to just use the same password for all of your accounts but this makes it too easy for the cyber criminals. Try using a password manager tool that allows you to create a master password for all of your online accounts. This will help to keep your online passwords safe. And, when choosing a password never use your name (or parts of it), your birth date or your address in it. Make sure your password is completely unique and the longer the better. Using special characters, numbers, and upper and lower case letters helps to secure your passwords as well.

Many people get themselves into trouble online by clicking on links that are not safe, especially links found in emails or in some form of electronic message. Always think before you click on any links. If you are not 100% sure that the message with the link in it is from a trusted source then do not click on that link. Even If the message appears to be from a trusted source but something seems strange about it then do not click on it. Take the time to email or call that person yourself to verify that they actually sent the message. You can’t do any harm by reading a message but if you click on a link from a hacker with malicious intent you jeopardize the security of your personal information and your entire computer and network.

Online shopping is another increasingly popular past time. One way to stay safe while shopping online is to stick with the big well-known companies (e-bay, amazon). But if you are ever shopping at a website and are unsure about its legitimacy there are a few things to look out for. For instance, on the shopping cart page the website address should always start with “https” as opposed to just \”http\”. The https tells you that your personal information is being transmitted securely and it allows your browser to validate the authenticity of the website you are on. Keep in mind, that cyber criminals are more than capable of setting up websites with secure https connections. Just because a website has a https connection doesn\’t mean that the website owners themselves are trustworthy. It only means that the information can\’t be stolen by a third party.

Author Bio: These are just a few tips on how to stay safe online. Find more cyber security tips at Cybercrime Blog.

Category: Internet
Keywords: stay safe online, password security, cybercrime, cyber criminals, keep password safe, clicking on li