Digital

StepSecurity by Step guide Introduction to Digital Security & Safety

Digital Security is the protection of one’s identity online. It involves and details tools and means to secure your identity and assets in the online and mobile world. Online Vulnerabilities

Phishing

These are fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information like credit card details, passwords, and usernames by disguising as a trustworthy entity in electronic communications like emails. These emails normally have poor grammar and spellings, poor email design and quality includes a false sense of urgency and directly solicits personal or financial information.

Pharming

A hacker redirects an internet user to a fake website instead of a legitimate one with an intention of capturing a victim’s sensitive information like passwords, usernames and credit card information. Spyware A form of malware attached to internet pop-ups or downloadable files once installed, they can “spy”/ monitor your keystrokes, read and delete your files, reformat your hard drive and access your personal details without your knowledge.

Symptoms of spyware

Slow computer. Too many pop-ups. Features in your browser that you don't remember installing.

Preventing and getting rid of spyware

Use spy bot to search and destroy the spyware from your devices. Keep your software updated. Avoid clicking pop-ups. Don't click suspicious links that come via email. Be cautious of free downloadable software. Always use secure browsers.

Zoom Bombing

Unwanted intrusions into a video conference showing obscene or lewd things by an uninvited individual causing disruption. Similar situations happen with WebEx, Skype. 5 simple steps to avoid Zoom bombing when using public WI-FI. VPNs encrypt your internet connection making it private. Some VPNs include Psiphon. Avoid using your personal meeting ID. Always use a meeting password. Use two-factor authentication - 2FA adds another layer of Use Zoom’s waiting rooms. authentication on top of your username and password as you log Mute audio and disable video for meeting attendees. into your accounts. Platforms like Facebook, Gmail, and even Turn off screen sharing for everyone apart from meetings hosts. WhatsApp have it, be sure to enable it.

Tips for online safety Turn on 2FA for Gmail. Turn on 2FA for WhatsApp. Install an antivirus and keep it updated - An Antivirus protects your device from all kinds of malicious software. Some of the Use passcodes even when they are optional - Most smartphones antivirus software include Kasperksy, McAfee, AVG, Avast. offer passcode options, be sure to activate them and on top of that use biometric authentications like fingerprints to ensure Use strong, unique and random passwords. stronger security.

Strong means long passwords (16-20) characters that Clear your cache - Your browser’s cache knows a lot about you, contain unpredictable words with a mix of letters, numbers saved searches, cookies all which could trace back to your and other characters. For example, 35dcleanw!zaad personal data. To clear on chrome; contains numbers, letters and other characters. Open Chrome. Unique means using a different passwords for each site, At the top right, click More tools. Clear browsing data. avoid reusing passwords as it is the number one cause of At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select hack-ins. All time. Next to “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images Random means your password should not follow any and files” check the boxes. logical pattern, avoid names, birthdays or addresses that Click “Clear data”. are predictable. Turn off your “Save password” feature in all browsers - Browsers Use an encrypted Password manager, strong, unique and random have an inbuilt password management system, turn that off and passwords may be hard to memorise. use password managers. On your Android phone or tablet;

Password managers like KeepassXC, Last pass, Dashlane, Open the Chrome. 1Password and Keeper. Top right of the address bar, tap More. Tap Settings. Passwords. Get a VPN and use it At the top, turn off Save passwords.

Ensure to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) especially when using public WI-FI. VPNs encrypt your internet connection making it private. Some VPNs include Psiphon.

Use two-factor authentication - 2FA adds another layer of authentication on top of your username and password as you log into your accounts. Platforms like Facebook, Gmail, and even WhatsApp have it, be sure to enable it.

Turn on 2FA for Gmail. Turn on 2FA for WhatsApp. Install an antivirus and keep it updated - An Antivirus protects your device from all kinds of malicious software. Some of the Use passcodes even when they are optional - Most smartphones antivirus software include Kasperksy, McAfee, AVG, Avast. offer passcode options, be sure to activate them and on top of that use biometric authentications like fingerprints to ensure Use strong, unique and random passwords. stronger security.

Strong means long passwords (16-20) characters that Clear your cache - Your browser’s cache knows a lot about you, contain unpredictable words with a mix of letters, numbers saved searches, cookies all which could trace back to your and other characters. For example, 35dcleanw!zaad personal data. To clear on chrome; contains numbers, letters and other characters. Open Chrome. Unique means using a different passwords for each site, At the top right, click More tools. Clear browsing data. avoid reusing passwords as it is the number one cause of At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select hack-ins. All time. Next to “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images Random means your password should not follow any and files” check the boxes. logical pattern, avoid names, birthdays or addresses that Click “Clear data”. are predictable. Turn off your “Save password” feature in all browsers - Browsers Use an encrypted Password manager, strong, unique and random have an inbuilt password management system, turn that off and passwords may be hard to memorise. use password managers. On your Android phone or tablet;

Password managers like KeepassXC, Last pass, Dashlane, Open the Chrome. 1Password and Keeper. Top right of the address bar, tap More. Tap Settings. Passwords. Get a VPN and use it At the top, turn off Save passwords.

Ensure to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) especially Avoid click baits - Be smart about what you click to avoid being a victim of phishing. Look out for suspicious websites or emails typically requesting for personal information.

Protect your social media privacy - Limit the amount of private information you share on social media like home address, phone numbers, and bank details.

Ensure to update your devices always - Regularly updating your software and operating systems helps to reduce security vulnerabilities.

End-to-End encryption - End-to-End encryption simply means encrypting communications to make them unavailable to third parties. Through encrypted platforms, information is transmitted using a secret code rather than an insecure plain text.

Encrypted messaging platforms you can use include Signal, Whatsapp, Line and Telegram. De-google your life

As a frequent user of Youtube, Google search, Gmail, Google Maps and other online tools, you leave so much digital footprint behind. Here’s how you can reduce the amount of personal data you feed google;

Check the kind of data that google records. Open google’s my activity page. Scroll through your google activities and if you feel there’s so much of your print, you can click on delete and you history will be washed away. Search differently and privately using alternatives like DuckDuckGo or add its extension, Other browsers include Mozilla Firefox, Brave or Opera which comes with an inbuilt VPN.

When using Google, try searching in incognito mode;

Open your browser. At the top right corner, click on the New Incognito window and proceed to search. Check for Incognito icon.