Whether you’re browsing the Internet for fun or building your own website for business, whenever you are online, you and your privacy are at risk. Internet fraud, hacking and viruses are becoming more and more prevalent in modern times and so you need to step up your security if you want to stay safe and protected.
Building your own website can be a great way to start a business or meet new friends, but get expert help during the process in order to safeguard your information from unsavoury characters. You can find helpful guides on websites such as WebHostingBlueBook.com which can help you get the right precautions in place from the start.
Authentic websites
Whenever you are buying something online, it is important that you check to validity of the website itself. Due to the relative ease of building a website for free these days, you will sometimes come across dummy websites set up solely to con people out of their cash. Music events in particular suffer with this problem, as touts have adopted virtual scams and will create authentic-looking sites selling discount tickets. All companies should have a registered company number which you can then check online, or if they have a contact number, ring it before you pass over any money. If the number doesn’t exist, then make a swift exit.
Spam email
Most email inboxes will get their fair share of spam email and most of the time these nuisances are easy to recognise. However, some scams are getting wise to junk folders and make their emails look as professional as possible. Correspondences from banks or credit card accounts are the most common ones to crop up, asking for your account details to ‘rectify an error’ or something similar. Remember that your bank should never ask for your account details via email so if it looks like they have, give them a ring to check first. It is easy to set up your junk mail folder and it can really save you the hassle of dealing with spam emails in the future.
Passwords
Like any password you may have, the golden rule here is keep it safe! If you have to write it down to remember, don’t leave the note lying around for anyone to see. Keep it stored safely until you need it. You should also try and use a different password for each online account you have. Using the same password for your email and credit card account can lead to all sorts of trouble if you get hacked so try and pick something different each time, written down somewhere safe in case you forget.
Social Media
It is easy to lose sight of personal information when you are sharing via social media, but you should always keep in mind what you are putting out there. If you don’t have the right privacy settings set up, whenever you announce you’re going on holiday for a fortnight or have bought a brand new television, it’s not just your friends and family who can see the updates. Many social media platforms also offer tracking options so, unless you want your every move watched by strangers, get your privacy settings sorted as soon as possible.