Use Cyber Security to Protect Your Money

Posted On 16 November 2020

Last updated on April 10th, 2024

We live in a world where the Internet connects everybody. It allows us to connect with one another even when there are great distances separating us. We can work with people around the world in real time. We can take classes, conduct our banking, and invest online. There are so many amazing things the Internet brings to us.

Not everything with the Internet is positive. Because of the connectivity, we are all susceptible to cyber criminals. I like to think that on the Internet we should act like we live in a big city – even if we live in a small town or out in the country.

If we do not protect ourselves, we could be hacked. Money, or our identity, can be stollen. While anything can be hacked, it is our responsibility to make things as difficult as possible for the criminals.

Private Browsing is Not Security

A while back I read an article that surprised me. There is a considerable number of people that think private browsing will keep them safe while online. Private browsing does serve a purpose, but it does not keep you safe.

What steps can we take to increase our cyber security? There several things we can do, and the best part is that these things are not that hard to do.

Increase Cyber Security by Limiting Online Info

People have posted on social media about an upcoming vacation only to have their house is broken into! We need to pay attention to what we make available online. The more information that is available online, the more information that can be used against us. As far as cyber security is concerned, we are often our biggest enemy.

We can have our birthday listed on Facebook, but do we need to post our birth year as well? No. Do we need to post email addresses or cellphone numbers online? Most likely not. I am not going to tell you what you should or should not post online – I just want you to think first about what you post online. Only you can protect yourself on this level!

Use Good Password Practices

I previously wrote about account security. A password manager provides an easy way to store complex passwords that the user has no emotional connections to. If the password does not have to be remembered by the person, to password can be completely random.

Since the passwords do not need to be remembered, each account can have its own password. Passwords can be changed regularly, and if they are saved (and updated!) in the password manager, there is nothing new for you to remember! This gives you more cyber security.

Along the lines of passwords, security questions can be the Achilles heal of your account security. Most of the answers to these security questions can easily be figured out. You should make up the answers to these questions secure. For example: What year was your father born? Cheese. If you do this, you MUST write your answers down. The notes section of your password manager is perfect for this.

Keep Software Update-To-Date

Sometimes there is a major software update. Most of the time the updates are bug and security fixes. These updates are good for your device and that is why there is often no noticeable difference after updating software.

An additional benefit to keeping software up-to-date is that it does not take much time if the updates are taken care of regularly. When updates are ignored, it can take a long time to complete all the updates (I’ve spent hours updating neglected computers and phones for people!).

Antivirus Software

Having anti-virus software on your computer is not optional! This is what keeps the booby traps and malicious attacks out of your computer. Your anti-virus should be set up automatically update itself. Cyber criminals are constantly working to create new ways to access and compromise computers.

Keep Electronics Secure

Cellphones can be an easy way for a criminal to gain access to online accounts. If your phone is stollen, and there is no security set up, the criminal can simply access your accounts. That can turn a bad day into a nightmare!

Every phone should have security to get past the lock screen. Biometric ID is strong and easy to use. When you set up a fingerprint (use fingers from both hands) your device requires a PIN, pattern, or password.

2FA (Two Factor Authentication)

2FA is a great way to increase your cyber security. When 2FA is in use on an account, not only is the user name and password needed, so is the account holder’s physical cellphone. If there is a choice of getting a text or using an app, choose the app. The app allows for greater security since a phone number can be hijacked by a criminal.

I know that it can be a pain in the ass to use 2FA, the point is that it is a bigger pain in the ass for the criminal! Our job is to make criminals’ work harder.

Email & Cell Accounts

Two types of accounts that may seem like they don’t need much security is email and cell accounts. With these accounts, it is possible to gain access to financial accounts by resetting the banking password. If your cellphone account is hacked, 2FA via text message can then be sent to the criminal’s phone. All kinds of problems can come from these innocent looking accounts getting hacked.

There are lots of resources online about how to set up good security on email accounts. Email account providers also will have help for you as well. I don’t talk about this to scare you, I just want to get the message out about using good security. It is our responsibility to protect ourselves online.

You Can Secure All WIFI Networks

How do you secure a WIFI network that you don’t control? By using a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. Unsecure WIFI networks are public WIFIs in places like restaurants, schools, and airports. When you connect to the Internet through a VPN, you create an encrypted connection between your VPN enabled device and the VPN server.

You can use a free VPN, or you can pay for one. Private Internet Access (Affiliate) has great service at a good price. Also, if you follow my link, you will get 30 days free!

This is not a tutorial on how to set up what you need for good cyber security. There is a lot of info online about cyber security and how it works and how to set it up. My hope with this post is to make you aware of the need to apply these procedures to your online life.