How to Fight Hacking

Change your phone password regularly. The first step in fighting bad guys trying to see or steal your data is to set passwords that are hard to guess and change them often.

• Make sure that you change to a completely new password each time — Don’t just change some of the password.
• On most phones, you can set a “complex” or “advanced” password that includes both letters and characters in addition to the usual numeric characters.

Use Touch ID if possible. While you may still need to set a password for your phone’s lock screen, it’s recommended that you use Touch ID on any supported device to pay for many other things and services that are available.

• As always, it’s always a good idea to reduce password typing time on any platform.

Browse with a secure web application. While third-party browsers like Tor or Dpphin may seem tempting, syncing your Google Chrome or Safari account with your phone and computer saves you the trouble of retyping your saved passwords and keeps them safe. Secure your device from unsafe websites.

Update equipment and software in a timely manner. As soon as an update is available for something, from the Facebook app on your phone to the entire operating system, you should update it as soon as you can.

• Many updates are patches that fix weaknesses and address security issues. If the software is not updated in time, the device’s weaknesses can be exploited and become the target of attacks.
• Take advantage of automatic download of all updates if available. You will avoid a lot of trouble.

Charge your phone at reliable USB ports. This includes USB ports on your computer and in your car (if available). Public USB ports, like those you see in coffee shops, can expose your information.

• For this reason, it’s a good idea to take the power connector and USB cable with you if you’re traveling.

Avoid jailbreaking (or rooting) your phone or using unorthodox apps. Both iPhone and Android have a layer of security that can be broken by jailbreaking or rooting their respective devices, but doing so makes your phone more vulnerable to attacks and infections, which was previously impossible. Similarly, downloading apps from unknown sources (aka “side-loading” apps) significantly increases your risk of getting infected with malware.

• Android phones have built-in security tools that prevent downloading apps from unknown sources. If you choose to disable this feature (from the Security tab in Settings), you need to carefully check the website containing the application to be downloaded before proceeding with the download.

Hard drive encryption. If your hard drive is encrypted, a hacker won’t be able to read the data stored on it, even if he gains access to your hard drive. Although you have taken many steps to prevent access, encryption is another method to help keep your information secure.

• For Mac – FileVault is an encryption feature for Mac. You can enable this feature by clicking the apple icon in the upper-left corner of your Mac screen, clicking System Preferences , clicking the Security & Privacy icon , clicking the FileVault tab , then clicking Turn On FileVault . You may have to click the lock icon first, then type in the password for the administrator account on the Mac. ^[5]
• For Windows – BitLocker is Windows’ default encryption feature. To enable this feature, simply type “bitlocker” into the Start search bar, click the “Bitlocker Drive Encryption” option, and then click Turn on BitLocker . Remember that Windows 10 Home users do not have access to BitLocker without updating to Windows 10 Pro.

Install updates as soon as they are available. In addition to improving performance, system updates often improve security. ^[6]

Regularly back up data. No matter how good the layer of security is, there is a chance that your data will be exposed. The reason could be a hack, or simply a computer error. Backing up your data helps ensure that you don’t lose anything.

• There are many cloud services that you can use to back up your data. Double-check the security of these services before using them. Although you may be tempted by the most affordable service, you still want to make sure that your data is kept safe.
• You can also use an encrypted external hard drive for data backup. Set up your computer to automatically back up every day, when you don’t normally use it.

Don’t click on suspicious links or reply to strange emails. If you receive a strange email, or an email from a sender you don’t know, consider it a hacking conspiracy of the bad guys. Avoid clicking on any links or giving personal information to the sender.

• Remember that simply replying to an email is enough to let the sender know that your email address is valid and in use. Although you may think of replying in a sarcastic fashion, you should know that this gives the bad guys the information they need to hack your account.

Install or enable a firewall. Both Windows and Mac computers have firewalls that help prevent hackers from gaining access to your computer. However, on most computers, the firewall is not turned on by default.

• Go to your computer’s security settings and navigate to the “firewall” setting. Here, make sure that the firewall is turned on and is blocking connections from outside.
• If you’re using a wireless network, your router should also have a firewall.

Allow firmware password. If your computer has this option available, ask the user for a password before rebooting from the drive or entering single-user mode. Hackers usually can’t get the firmware password, unless they already have access to your computer. However, you must be very careful, not to forget or lose the password because it is very difficult to get it back. The way to generate the firmware password is as follows:

• On Mac – Restart your Mac, then hold down the ⌘ Command and R keys as it boots up. Click Utilities , click Firmware Password Utility , click Turn On Firmware Password , then create your password.
• On Windows – Restart your computer and then hold down the BIOS key (usually Esc , F1 , F2 , F8 , F10 , or Del ) as the computer boots. Use the arrow keys to select the password option, then type the desired password.

Turn off remote access. Although sometimes you need to access your computer remotely, or allow someone to do this (for example, when you need technical support), it’s usually a good idea to turn this feature off, only turning it on once. whenever needed.

• Allowing remote access means leaving the door open, making it easier for hackers to break into your computer and steal your data.

Install anti-virus software on your computer. Antivirus software has the ability to identify and remove potentially harmful programs and files as soon as they are downloaded. Windows Defender is a good piece of software for personal computer users, and it comes pre-installed on computers running Windows 10. If you’re using a Mac, AVG or McAfee software can become “” defenses” solid, support for the default security suite Gatekeeper. ^[7]

• You should also make sure that your computer’s firewall and Bluetooth feature allow only trusted connections to access your computer.

Use secure wireless networks. In general, a secure network will ask you to enter a password before connecting. In some places (like airports or coffee shops) you’re allowed to ask for a password after buying something.

• If the wireless network is not secure, the computer will notify you before connecting. Some operating systems even display an exclamation mark next to the name of the network.
• If you need to use the Internet but do not have access to a secure network, you need to change your password the next time you log in to a secure network.
• If you have a wireless network at home, make sure it is always secure and encrypted. Remember that by default, wireless routers are usually not secure – you have to set them up yourself.

Only download programs from trusted sites. You should also keep this in mind when visiting websites using an unsecured connection. If you don’t see a lock icon to the left of the URL and “HTTPS” in front of the “www” part of the URL, it’s best to avoid visiting the site (or downloading anything) entirely if possible. .

Learn to recognize fake websites. In addition to avoiding sites that don’t have “HTTPS” and a lock icon next to the URL, you should double-check the site’s URL before typing your password on it. Some sites conspire to steal login information by spoofing websites (also known as “phishing”). You can identify these pages by looking for extra (or missing) characters, hyphens between words, or extra symbols.

• For example, a fake Facebook page might have a URL of faceboook.com .
• Sites that have hyphens in their names (between “www” and “.com”) are often unreliable.

Do not use file sharing services. Often, sharing files not only violates intellectual property laws, but file-sharing websites can sometimes even eat with hackers. You might think you’re downloading a recent hit song or a new movie, but the file is actually a virus or malware in disguise.

• Many files are cleverly designed so that the virus or malware hidden within is not detected by virus scanning software. The virus will not harm the system unless you try to open the file.

Shop only on secure sites. Never enter account or credit card information on a page that doesn’t have “https://” in front of the “www” part of the website address. The letter “s” ensures that the site is secure. A page without that text will not encrypt or protect your data.