“Hacking is a talent. You won’t learn it at school. It’s like being Messi or C.Ronaldo. If you were born to become a Hacker, it’s your destiny. Otherwise, you’ll be Hacked.”
― Amine Essiraj
The above quote is a summation of what the hackers in the game changing times now behave as. Cybercrime is the most malicious form of crimes in today’s era. There has been hacking of personal and private data from small towns to big cities and organisations. We have also heard about worldwide whistleblowing issues and scams relevant to hacking personal data. In this world of social media networking, is it even remotely possible to protect our data in any little way?
Yes, there are few ways in which we can keep our computers safe and secured. But not entirely fool-proof. These are just preventive measures that can be taken however to ensure no obvious entry of hackers into our computer system. Below listed are a few potential ways in which we can do our best to secure our computer data from being accessed by hackers:
- Make a strong password to protect your system’s login credentials
- Never leave your laptops unattended in public spaces like airports or railway or metro stops
- Make it a point to not grant access to unknown sources trying to access your system data
- Have anti-virus software installed in the system to prevent virus attacking the PC
- Try to avoid connecting to open Wi-fi networks as much as possible to avoid unnecessary data leaks
- Do not install apps from unauthorised sources too so that the system gets corrupted with malicious malware
- Never download games which appear to be mostly suspicious or from illegal sources
- Do not click on any unauthorised advertisements that open out of browsers all of a sudden
- Never ever open spam emails or advertisements that urge you to click and look definitely suspicious of malware
- Format your system or copy all personal data onto a hardisk before planning to sell any part of the computer
- Use patterns or facial recognition sensitive passwords if at all you have the opportunity so as to make it difficult for anyone trying to trace out your details
- Make sure that your security questions have an answer that only you can guess but not even your family members (the closest relations) etc. just to be on the safer side of the boat for prevention of unwanted hackers into your PC
- Verify the genuineness and authenticity of emails even from known sources like banks or companies with offer letters or even universities for that matter, to just be on the safer side, as there are possibilities of fake organisations claiming to be genuine and fool proof about the offers
- Do guest checkouts while online shopping and try not to give in your personal details like email ID and phone numbers for each and every single website or on every e-commerce platform that you are on, to prevent personal data being hacked more easily. Although these are the primary essential data inputs being required most likely now, try to limit it as and when possible
- Make use of internet firewall access to prevent unwanted and unnecessary data leaks
- Also remember to back up your data then and there most of the time in either your personal harddisk or USB , so that even if the PC is lost or stolen, it might minimise the chances of being hacked
- It is always a wise option to switch off the computer or laptops when not in use , so that data cannot be accessed by any source from remote or when you are not around. Despite having strong passwords for login, an expert hacker can still hack your device. So its best to shut down the PC or laptop, when not in use
- When you feel that there is some kind of involuntary actions which are not performed by you, like opening of apps that you have not opened, then it is possible that your system is prey to some hacker. Immediately use the chance to alert the cybercrime vigilance department agency in your area
- Have all contact details to report a cybercrime anytime. Stealing or theft of personal data is definitely a crime big enough to be reported at the start of it itself. Hence, once there is confirmation that your system is hacked, please remember to report to the authorities immediately.
Above mentioned points are only precautionary tips for securing your computer from the expert hackers. However, it is essential to be smart and savvy in giving out any private information on the internet and safeguard our privacy in the strictest ways possible.
