I’m willing to bet that most everyone who owns a PC keeps some form of major, sensitive information on it. Passwords, personal information, client’s information, the whole shebang.
Unfortunately, this possibility brings out the pakaus out in full force from their hidey holes. These hackers want nothing but to steal your information and make some profit off of it, and this isn’t rare in India. According to a security report by Symantec, India is the third most vulnerable country when it comes to cyber-security issues with 5.09% of global threats detected, only behind China (10.95%) and the United States (26.61%)
But this news isn’t hopeless! With only a few simple tips, you can do your part to protect not only yourself, but the security of the nation!
The days of going and manually installing a decent anti-virus is behind us. While programs like Norton and McAfee are still active, there’s no need to use them when Microsoft is kind enough to give us a free anti-virus with every Windows copy.
“Ghanta!” You might say, but it’s true, and you’ve probably seen it on your own PC under the name of Windows Defender. With Windows Defender, you can make sure that those pesky viruses or shady websites can’t get in your PC and steal whatever information they’re looking for.
And if you want to use extra anti-virus programs for the extra protection or because they’re dhinchak, that’s fine. Extra protection never hurt anyone, especially when it comes to hardware. But Windows Defender should always be on, as why not trust a program built by the creators of the operating system it’s meant to defend? A plus? All you need to do is go to your settings in Windows and find Windows Security. From there, the world is your oyster. Well, your Windows world.
It’s easy to think that your connection to the Internet is secure, especially if you’re at home or you’re at work using your company’s wi-fi. The truth is that your wi-fi is never completely secure. No security protocol or password ensures a 100% chance that there isn’t an outside source leaking your data or a criminal stealing the information that is being passed through the connection.
And don’t think that’s out of the question for you. It’s easy to think that since you’re only one out of a billion people here, but the possibility is still very real. Fortunately, technology has come a long way, and there is one modern way to encrypt your information and protect your wi-fi at home or when you’re out and about: a VPN.
A VPN simply encrypts information that your device receives and sends back. Best part? All you need to do is install some software that you pay little for, considering the benefit. There’s virtually no excuse you shouldn’t be using one. No? I’ll leave the jokes at home.
You should definitely be using a VPN if you use public networks as well. Public networks are open to all kinds of attacks, so invest in one if you are constant visitor at the local coffee shop for some writing.
Oye, what did you just install in your browser? Yea, that Chrome extension called “Totally Safe Adblock” with one 1-star review. Why would you even download that?
If you’ve done this or know a person who has done this, then just know that you’re not the only one. Many people forget that extensions and add-ons for their browsers have just as much potential to harm their device than a program can. For this reason alone, you should make sure that your browser(s) is cleaned up and free of any potential danger.
This process looks different on each browser, but each browser typically contains a section dedicated to plug-ins and extensions. For example, Firefox has them labelled under “Add-ons” in the browser menu, while Chrome files extensions under “More tools”, where “Extensions” is available.
Making sure your browser is secure is an extremely easy a task, that even a vella like me can do it. Make this a regular routine as well, as you don’t know what might get installed when you’re not paying attention.
This one’s a simple one, takes almost no effort at all to enforce. When you download a program, make sure you’re not allowing the app more permission than it needs.
For example, you may want some type of video call program to talk to your friend who moved to the other side of Delhi. That type of program should only need permissions to data such as your contacts, microphone, webcam, and other relative information.
The good news is that if you’re worried you might have already messed this up, you can easily fix the situation by going to “Privacy” in Windows settings and checking permissions of each app. Disable what seems to be suspicious and bindaas, you’ve secured yourself for another day!
I part with you all by giving this last piece of advice: Security demands that you be a fattu when it comes to curiosity.
If you’re curious about a website but it looks a bit shady, don’t go on it. If you think a certain program looks neat but it has no reviews and comes from a no-name company, you probably shouldn’t download it.
Play it safe on the Internet, or your device, and later your security, may suffer for it.