Understanding the internet
To make something safe and secure, one needs to be aware of the threats. It’s difficult to know what to embrace yourself against if you don’t know the threats in the first place. In this “crash course article”, I will explain my personalized steps to greatly increase online safety and staying secure in the cyber world.
Passwords and authentication
This can’t be mentioned enough. The very first thing we do when even installing a fresh, new system- is to make a password. It makes sense though because authentication methods to ensure only we gain access is a good thing to have. We don’t want any strangers to have access in a system that they shouldn’t be on.
What is a “good password”?
Well, there are tons of great passwords ranging from 7 characters to over 32 characters long. However, instead of asking for a common good password, you have to be aware of how easy they might be to crack. «Facebooklover123» Is a fair password. It contains lowercase, capital letters, and numbers. In addition, it’s also pretty lengthy. However, it would be a complete idiotic attempt to stay safe if you were to use it on your actual Facebook user. If you are smart you would use different passwords on different sites with no relation to you or the website. Unless you want to join me for a spin in a few minutes of brute-force and see who wins—you or my brute force program.
Also, if you think it’s enough with only a password, I got some bad news for you. What if it did get cracked and you have got quite important files in your storage? This is where the Two-Factor-Authentication (2FA) comes in. 2FA enables more than one authentication method to be added before access is granted. This could be sending a confirmation code to your phone in addition to the password login.
I made a neat and structured summary of how long it takes for a program to figure out a password beneath:
| Symbols | Length | Time |
|---|---|---|
| abc, ABC | 4 characters | 1 min - |
| abc, ABC | 7 characters | 24 days |
| abc, ABC, 123, !»# | 4 characters | 1 min + |
| abc, ABC, 123, !»# | 7 characters | 10 months |
This is estimation with about 500000 tries per second with the ASCII alphabet.
Usage of Social Media
We got the passwords covered, but there’s no need for passwords if you give out all the information needed to guess it anyway. I’m not just talking about your account, but you may also be exposed to risks of identity theft as well.
You can start by reviewing your profiles. Go through the information you have submitted and change your settings so you know only those you trust can see it. This can be things like changing Instagram from public to private or changing Facebook publicity settings. Remember to do this approximately once every few months to ensure everything is how it’s supposed to be.
Speaking of Facebook, remember it is one of the best resources for social engineers. It allows you to publish where you live, your education, your family members, full name, address, age, telephone number and so on. If you want hackers to know that, make sure to publish it all with easy access and friend anyone that sends a request.
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Even if you are familiar with the internet and you feel like you are starting to get a hang of it, do not get fooled. There are many fake websites, links, accounts, and advertisements that claim to be trustworthy. You must keep in mind that being scammed or phished is one of the most common threats online. If you see a website has https:// and a lock, it’s a safe site and everything you do there is encrypted- but be aware no matter the circumstances.
Backup and Encryption
If you are afraid of losing things and feel like having a 2FA on your secure password - while you’re unable to be found anywhere online- is not enough, I still have more options; Zip ‘em up, Encrypt ‘em ‘n hide ‘em.
Backup
If you got your Wi-Fi system up and running, ensure that all the network keys and passwords have been written down for later use. To make sure you don’t lose them in the process, it’s essential with a “copy” of the information- a backup.
A backup ensures that whatever happens to the files or specific information, you will always have a second copy on your hand. This is extremely useful if a hacker infects your computer with a virus and it deletes that one file you had your Wi-fi password on for instance.
Encryption
However, if you are scared that not even a backup can save your paranoia, encrypting your disk or USB seems like a good option. Windows 10 has a built-in feature called BitLocker. You choose a password that will be used to encrypt the disk. If you choose to do this, you will have to unlock the disk if you want to use it after a restart. This means that as long as it is encrypted and locked, no one will be able to view its contents, which results in a good and secure database. It’s possible to look up many other encryption services, as long as you make sure they are legit and aren’t the actual hacker that is trying to attack you.
Secure connection
Now, the great question: What is the difference between Proxy and VPN?
It is ten times easier than you think. Let me put it in an easy comparing for you:
| Proxy | VPN |
|---|---|
| Does not support encryption | Encrypts connections and secures traffic |
| Hides IP address | Hides IP address |
| Easy to find free ones | Harder to find free ones |
| Might not work efficiently on phone or tablet | Flexible on many platforms |
| Slow due to many users | Quicker due to better quality |
So to put this in a summary for you; Proxies are awesome when bypassing IPs or simply hiding your location, but they might not be very secure and stable. VPNs, on the other hand, are super if you want an encrypted connection and traffic, but their quality comes with a price making them hard to find free.
Computer maintenance and spotting signs
You will not always know whether you have been infected or not, because it is just like a disease- not all of them have clear symptoms even though they are there. However, a few signs are depending on which type of malicious software there is.
Here are some common signs:
• A slowed performance
• Pop-ups and other ads that come without any actual user action
• Sudden crashes that happen frequently
• Any changes to settings of homepage, interface or such
• An increase in internet traffic (if you're able to take a look)
• Security barriers being automatically disabled
To ensure that we do not stumble upon any of these signs of malware, it is important to keep your system clean and healthy. Often when hackers try to get into systems, it is because they have learned how to exploit old software. This is exactly why it is super important to keep your software and firmware updated at all times.