We all know about hackers, but never think that we’re going to fall victim to them, especially if we don’t think that our information is that important. Surely, no one wants to find out what shows you’ve been watching on Netflix on Sunday afternoons, and you’re not exactly on a government watch list for watching 10 hours of The Office. But despite the fact that you may not think so, your data is greatly useful to a hacker. Some statistics show that around half of all Americans were hacked in a year, which amounts to millions of victims. So be safe online, by following these simple tips.
Get protection from a VPN
So, everybody has an IP address, and it could be used by hackers to find out more about you and your data. You may be wondering what this all means, but if you take a visit to a site such as https://whatismyipaddress.com/, then you’ll see exactly which parts of your data are available to those who look for it, and you don’t even have to be a pro-hacker to find it. You can, however, get a VPN, which will scramble your IP address so that your location, and your broadband provider, are not out there for the world to see. It’s a good idea if you’re not sure you want your information to be available to random people online, and we recommend looking into it.
Enable two-step verification on your accounts
If your accounts will allow it, enabling two-step verification is a great idea to protect yourself from hackers, particularly when it comes to your emails. Just think about how many things you use your email for, and what would happen if someone had access to it. Two-step verification means that every time you try to log in, they’ll send a code to your phone, and therefore you can confirm that it is really you trying to log into your account. It may seem excessive, but you truly don’t know who is going to try to access your data, and you’ll get a text whenever it happens, which keeps you in the loop with your privacy.
Don’t open weird-looking links you receive through emails
This may seem like a no-brainer, but hackers are super clever, and they can make their spam emails look like professional ones pretty easily. All you have to do is click one of their links, and that’s it, your data is exposed. So, if you feel like there is something suspicious about an email, then there probably is. Get rid of it, or get in contact with the company who you think may have sent it. They’ll confirm whether it’s legit or not.
So, there we have it: a few things that you can do to protect your data from hackers, which will leave you feeling more relaxed about your online privacy. You can get back to watching Netflix, without worrying that something a lot darker may be happening when you start browsing. Stay safe out there!
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