The Importance of Internet Safety – 5 Things to Consider

Hackers breaking into systems or committing fraudulent acts are very common. Identity theft and piracy in the cyberspace is nothing new. However, with escalating popularity and the usability of the internet, this topic is coming much more into focus. Besides hackers and spammers, pedophiles (predators) and cyber-terrorist are always on the hunt in search of easy prey.

In order to understand internet safety standards, it is very important to be aware of the risks associated with unsecured internet. So let’s discuss some most common issues faced:

1. Unauthorized access and hacking

These are one of the major threats as far as internet safety is concerned. Network security consists of the underlying infrastructure to protect the network from available resources and unauthorized access. Cyber hacking is the practice of modifying and altering software or hardware to accomplish a goal or objective outside the creators original objective. Once a hacker accesses your account, they have complete control over your entire data. They can misuse your financial information for their personal purposes. A hacker getting a hold of your financial credentials is as bad as your bank being robbed

2. Emails and spamming

Phishing refers to the scam where people acquire sensitive (private) information by posing a trustworthy entity via email or messages. This sensitive information often includes financial and personal information. This personal data can, in turn, be used for illegal purposes putting you in great trouble.

Various groups collect and sell such information to advertisers and other groups. Online scams request for your passwords and are a menace over the internet. Spamming, on the other hand, is relatively harmless but is as annoying as it floods your mailbox with unwanted updates, advertisements, etc. Spammers are also involved in selling your information to third parties.

3. Sexual abuse and pornography

The internet is not only flooded with illegal pornographic content but is also full of sexual predators on a lookout. There have been several cases of pedophiles trapping children, cyberbullying, and blackmailing.

Internet pornography is a significant threat as your videos and pictures could be misused and even posted on pornographic sites.

4. Cyberterrorism

Many government organizations keep a record of private information in the form of a database, or they upload it on the internet. These are websites under the highest amount of threat as there are people who get paid to hack into these systems to get hold of that private information. Many terror groups have a history of using the internet as a tool for propaganda and for communicating with the general public. Along with cyber-terrorism, activities such as internet extortion and email bombing also occur extensively through the internet.

5. Virus and malware

Knowing how susceptible we are in the face of cybercrimes, it is essential to have good firewall protection installed on your computer along with anti-virus software and a strong password of your Wi-Fi connection. If you’re a business owner, you would need even stronger firewall freeware and antivirus software. Hiring a bunch of network analyzers would do you good as well.

How to respond to any threat

The biggest measure you can take for internet safety is to be responsible with the content you upload over the internet. Protecting yourself would thus only be needed if and when you make yourself vulnerable by putting up sensitive information.

Avoid putting up personal pictures and videos on social networking sites which do not offer a strong confidentiality policy. It is also important to read their policy thoroughly and to make sure to not agree to anything that might be trouble later on.

Never trust anyone you meet on the internet, they might be a hacker behind the screen. Therefore avoid accepting friend requests of people you do not know.

Last but not least, surf anonymously; this will not only keep your search results private and out of reach by a third party but also save you from any potential threats in the future.

Making the Internet safe for your child

It is very important that your children are well aware of the potential mishaps of the Internet world. It becomes your responsibility to supervise their online activities for a short time period.

Internet safety is a crucial topic to be dealt with. With so many potential internet security threats lingering over the head of an individual, one must make use of smart-surfing to protect yourself and your online data.