Being Safe Online

Going online has become a daily routine, nowadays, of many people’s lives. They do these to get updated, keep in touch with friends, make purchases and so on. Though going online can be a lot beneficial and fun-filled, yet it can be a dangerous place to go. One needs to be careful considering the high rate of scams, hacks, spyware and more all over the net. Here are some tips to stay safe online.

1. Protect your passwords by using strong, unique passwords when creating one for an account. Try to include a mix of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. Also, avoid the use of easily guessed passwords like 123456, 00000, abcdef e.t.c
2. Privacy should be your watchword when online. Try keeping your social media profile as private as possible. This can limit unauthorised access to your profile and prevent strangers from getting hold of your personal information
3. Only visit secure websites when surfing the internet, shopping online or doing some sensitive online transactions. You know a secure website when the site’s address starts with ‘https’ instead of just ‘http’. This shows that the site is safe and will encrypt your data and prevent it from being intercepted by others.
4. Be cautious when sharing your personal information online. People you meet online are not really who you think they are. Revealing sensitive or personal information at any instance to people could be used for fraudulent purposes. I’m of the opinion to just be a selective sharer.
5. Think carefully about what you say or upload before posting it online to avoid regrets later because whatever you post circulates freely across networks and could be used and shared by people all over the world. Be careful about what you disclose about your private life. It could be exploited by people who might want to use it for their malicious purposes