How to Ensure Your Internet Security in the 21st Century.

Regardless of how much benefits we get from the use of the internet and social media, we are very much exposed to danger beyond our knowledge; yet we can’t quit being on these platforms. While Jude was rounding off his national youth service year, he was anxious and feared what was waiting ahead of him. All the speech given at his primary and secondary school graduation about him going into the ‘real world’ was finally becoming evident because finding a job was a real struggle. Internet security was the least of his worries so if he received a link to an application form for a job vacancy or information youth empowerment programme, he logs right in with the belief that the information might just be the breakthrough he has been searching for all along. So many of us are like Jude, we are quick to open any information with a caption that appeals to us without minding if we are exposing ourselves to hackers and other forms of threats facing internet security.

Internet security has the objective of establishing rules and measures against attacks during the use of the internet which represents an insecure channel for exchanging information. Our homes and workplaces are protected with various security measures but our information and privacy are not. Don’t wait till you get scammed before you get serious about the issue of internet security. Below are 5 steps towards ensuring your internet security in this digital era.

Audit Your Account Regularly

Time spent on social media and website audit is never wasted. In fact, you will be doing yourself the favour of making your brand more visible to prospects. A full social media audit helps you check all aspects of your account including the bio, engagement, followings, followers and more. With this task, you’ll be able to see suspicious accounts that are interacting with yours and flag them as a red zone.

Change Your Passwords Periodically

Most people use the same password when opening similar accounts because they are trying not to forget or mix up the passwords. This is not a bad idea if you will be logging out of all your accounts and changing their passwords periodically. However, using the same password for multiple accounts is an easy way for hackers to get hold of you because once they’ve found their way into one, accessing the rest is a piece of cake.

Limit Access to Social Media Accounts

The wide use of the internet and growing popularity in the use of social media which requires consistency has made social media management a daunting task for many. Therefore, they don’t mind sparing some money to hire a freelancer or an agency to manage their numerous business accounts and content management systems for their website. The more you let several people have access to your accounts, the more you make your platforms susceptible to risk. Limiting access to your accounts and internet privacy is the best way to keep them secure.

Beware of Unsecure Websites and Third-Party Apps

Curiosity is good until it kills the cat; don’t be too eager to visit a website without checking if it is secure. For starters, you should know the difference between these two protocols, Http and Https; the latter is more secure because it uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt normal Http requests or responses on a website. Stay safe by not inputting into Http sites any of your details such as passwords, username, credit/debit card, or personal information. Furthermore, if you do not absolutely need a third-party, try not to sign into them, especially if you are unsure of their authenticity. They could be created by hackers and used to get access to your personal information.

Log Out of Public Devices.

In case you ever need to use the internet on a device that doesn’t belong to you, never forget to log out of your accounts. Google Chrome makes this easy by providing the incognito window which ensures your privacy and internet security whenever it is used to surf the net or log into accounts. It is the most secure way to use the internet on a shared device because your sign-in cookie is automatically deleted once the window is closed and your browsing history won’t be saved.

Protect your online presence as much as you secure yourself offline. Do not let your business be dragged down but internet fraudsters and data thieves. You should also read our guide on how to maintain your digital well-being.