Protect yourself from spam and hackers with these little tricks

Here are some of the most common types of spam you may get through while using the internet:

1. Phishing: In these types of attacks the email address of the sender is designed to look like a real one but the closer look reveals it isnt. These are very common and are usually fake emails masquerading as if they are legitimate. Through this Phishing the hacker can easily extract the confidential information like phone number, address, or credit card details from naive users. These phishing mails often display a sense of urgency or panic to confuse and cheat people. Smishing is a variation of phishing that uses SMS or phone call to trick you into parting with personal and sensitive information.
2. Malware: A malware is a malicious software program that is designed for accessing your computer upon download, and stealing data.
3. Malicious Mobile Apps: The apps you are downloading in Google Play store or any app stores are not safe and legitimate to the whole. If you are not cautious, you might end up downloading an app with a malicious code for tapping all your information and contact details. Your privacy will get into the critical risk if such apps gain permission to view your phone data.
4. Insecure Networks: If you are connecting to a public wifi you should be aware of the hackers. Those connections may entail easy access to hackers. In such a scenario, a hacker can not only read your mails and monitor your activity but also extract your social network and email passwords and take complete control of your system.

Follow these simple steps to make yourself safe when you are online:

1. Be prudent about sharing information: Never distribute your email address or other details publicly in forums, websites, or blogs. Keep in mind that all kinds of people access internet and itll take only a matter of few seconds to abuse the data available. Spammers lurk everywhere and itll start innocently enough, with spam emails and then result in something as critical as a hacker attack if you have a weak password or unknowingly revealed any information. Dont make use of your personal or official mail for the purpose of event registration. Spammers often track these groups and email lists for potential targets.
2. Think twice before you click anything: If your email service provider forgot to mark a message as spam, chances are that you might click into it. Most spam messages are offers on cheap drugs, medicines, new products, offers, or packages. Resist your temptation to click and view on it. It is safe to refrain yourself from downloading anything suspicious from any hyperlinks of the spam mail.
3. Use reputed anti-virus software: Choose well-known anti-virus software with inbuilt spam filtering tools to keep your computer safe.
4. Never trust alarming messages: Dont trust the alarming messages which announce you that there available some critical errors and you need to install the anti-virus software to correct it.

Thereupon if you install the mentioned software, youll be the victim of malicious scammers who can steal information from your computer.

1. Be smart about passwords and security questions: Never set passwords that are generic or easy to guess, like your name, QWERTY, or abcdef. Choose a strong password which includes alphabets, numbers, and special symbols.

Never share your password with anyone or give clues about what it could be. Another best practice is to choose different passwords for different sites/accounts. Using a single password for everything makes you vulnerable.

1. Dont store passwords and critical information: It is not a prudent idea to store passwords and important information and identity data in your hard drive or cloud services. Very few cloud services provide data encryption for data at rest or inactive data.
2. Keep your operating system up-to-date: Update your OS often to keep it safe from hackers looking for entry in outdated programs. Select automatic update mode and remove outdated software programs from your computer.
3. Never use open Wi-Fi: Use public Wi-Fi for casual browsing, checking news, or entertainment. Never use it for accessing your personal or work emails or bank sites.

The internet is a haven of information and connections. Use it with caution, and youll have a great and safe experience!