Nowadays all the transactions are conducted over the Internet. Mostly, people use the Internet for prospering their business and their lifestyle, while there are some people who use the Internet to meet their selfish needs. Hackers discover several ways to steal one’s personal data and misuse them. This article explains the most common hackers attack along with preventive measures.
Phishing Attack
Phishing is one kind of fraudulent activity to obtain one’s credentials. Hackers disguise their IPs and generate phishing emails. Post-emailing, all your monetary transaction details are being acquired illegally. The email work as a masking unit for IP thus, all your personal info is opened.
How it Can Steal Your Data
Phishing emails generally contain a link. If you click on the link you will be redirected to a website. Although it is a fake website, it will seem to you like a real one. As soon as you enter username and password and all the bank details, information gets stored in the hacker’s database. Thus all your data gets hacked and your security gets compromised.
How to Protect Yourself From Phishing Attack?
You can stay protected from phishing if you follow the tips. Always check for spellings and grammatical errors in your domain name. In addition, do not open or download files sent from unknown links. Rather inform the webmail service about the email sender or report it as a spam.
Several antivirus software also provides anti-phishing methods. Install them on your system and so active an active internet protection too.
Malware Attack
Hackers develop a malware to steal any important data present in a system. If malware infects your system, your optimal device performance gets slowed down. If you visit any third party website and download, then there is a chance malware will infect your system.
Malware Types and Attacks
- Virus: Virus infects your system and along with that disables your system’s core functionality. Thus it makes the whole system inaccessible.
- Trojans: Trojans create backdoors and allow hackers to monitor activities on your system remotely. It resembles a legitimate software, however, it is not legitimate.
- Spyware: Hackers design spyware to monitor your activities. It resides in the background and keeps an eye on everything you conduct. In this way, they track the credit card numbers and the passwords.
How to Stay Protected From Malware Attack?
- Do not download software that is not legitimate
- Install quality antivirus software in your system
- Update your Windows OS
Malicious Apps Threats
Everybody has a false notion that apps available in the Apple Store or in the Google Play Store are genuine, safe and secure. However, there are apps which can put your privacy at risk.
How Those Malicious Apps Operate
- Accounts access: Those apps collect all the data from the contact lists of your phone. It can read messages and can read the phone conversation
- Microphone access: Those apps can even record the telephonic conversations
- Device administrator permission: Hackers can track other information on the phone
How to Stay Protected?
- Check the permissions beforehand downloading an app
- Notice the app review and the comments
Smishing
Smishing is one kind of phishing trick. Here, the hackers play a trick to take away personal information from individuals. They call or send an SMS and trap users. It has grown at an alarming rate in the past few years.
How it Steals Your Data?
Hackers carry out smishing via social media. It acquires personal information by manipulating users. And use all the personal details to carry out several malicious attacks. Attackers send offers and deals in short links if you click those links virus will infect your system.
How to Prevent Smishing?
- Do not share personal information over the phone
- Verify the source of a message before clicking it
- If the message states that somebody who knows you send the message, still verify whether you know him or not
Threats Related To Physical Security
Physical security threats occur if anyone unauthorized tries to access one’s laptops. mobiles and the hard drives. If someone physically gets access to your device, all your personal data is surely at a risk. Your privacy can be at stake.
Physical security threats are quite similar to phishing or malware attack but often this attack is underestimated. It can pose similar kinds of threats like that of malware or phishing attack. Attackers can harm anywhere at home or workplace.
- Always be careful while you storing confidential or sensitive data in your system. Use encrypted computer hard drives or USBs, etc.
- Never ever note down your password on a notepad
- Always use a strong password for your phone or laptop. You can set a 2-step verification for your laptop all the time
- Backup your important data. It will help if your device gets lost somehow
Insecure Networks
Always use a secure network. If you connect with the insecure network then there is a possibility that hackers will compromise your system. Hacktivists will take control of your system through the insecure network and will steal the passwords of the social accounts, bank accounts.
Coffee shops or Airports provide free WiFi. And those wireless connections are left unprotected most of them. Attackers can monitor if you conduct online banking, if you send emails or if you carry out private conversation.
How to Keep Yourself Safe
- Never ever connect to free Wi-Fi. Yes it is free but it is not safe to use
- If you are using public wifi or free wifi, do not conduct online banking. Never access your confidential files on your cloud drive
- Always use a strong encryption method like WPA2 both on your home and office in place of WEP that can be hacked quite easily.
