Content

• Steps
• Advice

The Internet is an indispensable part of many people's daily lives. This is a fun, informative and informative place, but it can also be very dangerous, even if you feel comfortable using it. By taking a number of safe ways to use the Internet, you can always protect your information and identity.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Password Protection

1. 

   Use hard-to-guess passwords. When you create your account, make sure it contains both upper and lower case numbers, symbols, and letters. Avoid sharing the same password for multiple accounts. Of course you will have difficulty remembering passwords, but your information will not be easily stolen.
   • Try to combine the first letters of a sentence. For example, "Drinking coffee makes you lose sleep" becomes "UcPkbmn @!"
   • Long passwords are often harder to guess, so you can try using your favorite quote, or a sentence from a song, book or movie. Remember that some websites have a password length limit, so this should be followed.
   • Avoid using common passwords like “123456” or “matkhau”, or personal information that can be easily known by others, like nicknames, street names where you live or pets' names.

2. 

   
   
   Use a password manager to organize and keep your passwords secure. The password manager will automatically generate hard-to-guess passwords for each of your accounts. You just need to create a master password for the tool and let it protect the others.
   • Some of the password managers are free or paid for with a few premium options.
   • Reliable password manager including 1Password and LastPass. You will find other tools by searching online.
   • You can also use your browser's built-in password sync service, but this is a less secure and vulnerable option, so you should use it with caution.

3. 

   
   
   Turn on multi-step verification for your account. Multi-step verification increases account security by asking for more information when signing in, such as a code sent to your phone.
   • To check if your account is set up for multi-step verification, you need to check the Settings section of the page.
   • This extra step can be annoying, but it will keep your information more secure than using just one password.

4. 

   
   
   Sign up for an account on legitimate sites. Please consider carefully before creating an account on the website, even if you are only asked for an email address. No matter how well secure your passwords are, providing an email address on an insecure site can put your information at risk.
   • Avoid pages with misspelled or grammatical addresses, as this could be some legitimate fake site.
   • Also, be wary of pages with lots of pop-ups, or with nonsense numbers or words in the address.

5. 

   Sign out of your account when you're no longer on the site. Logging in to the site creates a cookie in your browser and identifies your identity; If this information gets stolen, your account could be compromised. This is a very serious problem on sites that store important information like bank accounts or credit cards; Therefore, it's best to log out of your account after completing the operation.
   • Sign out of sites that you have already visited on your computer or public network.
   • Sign out of any online banking or shopping sites that you have used, even when accessed from your computer and home network.
   • You don't have to sign out of accounts like email or social media on your home computer, as long as you remember to lock your computer when you're not in use.
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Method 2 of 4: Use social media and email securely

1. 

   Make your profile private. Making your social media pages private will make it difficult for strangers to contact you or get hold of your information. Set your profile to be just for you or your friends.
   • Access your account settings and the security or privacy menu to view and change privacy settings.
   • When choosing to make your profile public, make sure you hide important information such as addresses and phone numbers.

2. 

   Review information that is publicly available on your personal page. Important information on your account may not be hidden and publicly visible once you have created or edited your profile. Visit the Privacy section of your account to check out what strangers might see on your profile.
   • You should do this every few months to ensure all private information remains confidential.

3. 

   Consider that you will regret posting something. To stay safe online, you need to know what you should and should not share. You may feel fine at first when posting inappropriate or provocative content, but keep in mind that those posts can be screened, viewed and shared by many people around the world, even if you have deleted them.
   • As a general rule, you should ask yourself if you want your parents, teachers, or prospective employers to read those articles. If the answer is no, you should stop.

4. 

   Review the articles that you are tagged in before they are approved. You can prevent embarrassing or malicious information from appearing on your account by turning review tagging on. This is very important when a friend's account is made public because other people will see the post or image that you are tagged.
   • Turn on review tagging in your privacy settings.
   • You'll receive a notification when someone has tagged you the post, and then accepts the tag so that the post appears on your account or declines.
   • If you're still worried about a photo after you have tagged it, talk to the poster about deleting the photo.

5. 

   Don't share personal information with people you meet online. This is obvious but still needs repeating. Even if you know a lot about someone you know online, you cannot be sure who they are and if they are dangerous.
   • Avoid giving contact information like names, addresses, phone numbers and other info like school or work that makes finding you easier.

   

   Scott Nelson, JD
   

   Experts agree that: In addition to specific information that helps others find out where you live (such as school or work), you also need to avoid giving information like your favorite restaurant, park or store. This information will be aggregated to localize your accommodation search.

6. 

   Be careful when you meet someone you know online. It's best not to meet people you only chat with online, but in some cases this will, such as when you shop online or use an online dating site. In these cases, choose to meet in a public place and be with a friend.
   • If you can't bring a friend with you, let a relative or friend know where you are going, with whom and for how long.
   • If you are under 18, never meet someone you only know online.

7. 

   Choose a neutral username when joining forums. Private or invite-only forums can be more dangerous than traditional forms of social networking; So, please pay attention to protect your identity. You should choose a neutral username when possible and avoid posting personal photos or linking to social media sites.

8. 

   Do not open emails or files from strangers. Internet scammers often use fake email or text messages to entice you to share personal information. If you receive an email from an unknown address or from a familiar address with suspicious content, move the email to spam folder.
   • The email may also contain a link that seems legitimate, but don't rush to click until you've verified it's trustworthy.
   • If you know someone's email address has been stolen, report the case immediately and report the case to the FBI Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
   • Internet scammers often want bank account information or social security numbers; Therefore, you should be aware of when you receive a request to transfer money, provide login information or personal information.
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Method 3 of 4: Use websites and networks securely

1. 

   Avoid clicking on sites that look fake or phishing. If you are familiar with the Internet, you may be able to identify unreliable links when seeing signs such as: incorrect grammar, pop-up windows, "bait" headers or unusual web addresses. You should avoid clicking on these pages and not downloading any content from here.
   • Accessing these pages may cause your computer to become infected or frozen.

2. 

   Regularly delete your browsing history to keep your information secure. Many sites may access your cookies - small text files that store interests so those sites can respond by displaying the right ads. However, hackers also use cookies to steal your personal information.
   • Clear cookies each month to delete personal information.

3. 

   Shop online on encrypted pages. When you shop or enter your online bank account, check the URL to make sure it starts with "https" instead of "http". The letter "s" means the website has security and data encryption to ensure information is not stolen.
   • Secure sites usually have a small padlock in the URL field.
   • While saving your payment information on your shopping page will help you have a more convenient experience, you should exercise caution when doing so because of the possible risk of your website being hacked.

4. 

   Use a private WiFi network instead of a public one. Public WiFi networks like restaurants, hotels or airports are often insecure, making it easier for others to attack your computer. Only connect to unsecured networks when you must, and be aware of the potential risks.
   • If you often have to use WiFi when going out, buy a virtual private network (VPN) - a type of hard drive that can create a private, secure connection from anywhere.
   • Exercise caution when making connections from a smartphone. If possible, you should confirm the WiFi's name and request login with the staff at that location before connecting.

5. 

   Use an antivirus utility in your browser. To increase your safety on the Internet, you can download an antivirus utility to check the security of a site or block ad windows for viruses or malicious content. However, be sure to download extensions from a legitimate source like the Chrome store for your safety.

6. 

   Install a firewall to protect the home network. A firewall is an electronic barrier that prevents unauthorized devices from accessing your computer or phone. Many computers have built-in firewalls; You can go to the security of your computer to check if a firewall is installed.
   • You can also get paid firewall software from authorized vendors such as Norton, McAfee, or Microsoft.

7. 

   Continuously update your computer's software. Most software updates get enhanced security; Therefore, it is better to use the latest version of the software. To easily get the latest updates, you'll have to turn on automatic updates in your computer's Settings. advertisement

Method 4 of 4: Stay safe when using smartphones

1. 

   Turn on encryption software on your phone. Many smartphones are already encrypted, which means their software has processed your information so that strangers can't access it. To check if your phone is encrypted, you need to go to settings and click on the security tab.
   • Automatically encrypted phones include iPhones, new Android models and Google's Pixel phones.
   • You can enable encryption software on Android in the security menu.
   • For extra security, you can download an encryption app from the app store.

2. 

   Hide your Bluetooth. Even though your phone's Bluetooth isn't as vulnerable as wireless networks, hackers can still use it to access your phone remotely when they're in the same area. To prevent this, hide the default Bluetooth settings so that you are not in the hacker line of sight.
   • If your device receives a connection request from an unfamiliar Bluetooth signal, ignore or decline immediately.
   • Always be cautious in crowded places like restaurants and on public transport as hackers may be in the same area as you.

3. 

   Only download apps from mainstream stores. Viruses usually easily get into your phone through downloading apps. "Legitimate" stores like Apple or Google Play are supposed to be safe places to buy apps, and you shouldn't download apps from other sites.
   • Remember to read the app's requirements, terms and conditions before installing. This content may seem long and very boring, but most of all you will know what data is installed on your device.

4. 

   Download security software to increase safety. If you want to set up the most reliable protection for your phone, you can purchase a mobile security plan. These tools often have built-in firewalls, spam blocking and GPS navigation so you can find your device when it is stolen or lost.
   • Some security plans also feature a remote lock so you can prevent thieves from accessing your phone.
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Advice

• Install anti-virus and malware programs first, as this is one of the most reliable ways to protect your hard drive.
• Use anti-theft feature of information from credit card company or separate service. As such, you will receive a notification if information is leaked or there is a suspicious payment when someone wants to steal your information.
• Remember to back up your data on a cloud service or an external hard drive. If your device is compromised, you still have information kept safe elsewhere.
• To add a layer of security to your phone, you should create a PIN or lock with fingerprints or facial recognition. This way, it will be more difficult to access your information when your phone is stolen or lost.
• Avoid sharing your real name, home address, nickname or other personal information.