January 4th 2016
We hope you had a happy and peaceful festive season and used the internet safely.
This website is packed with expert, easy-to-follow advice on keeping yourself, your family, your finances and your workplace safe on the internet.
As a kick-off to 2016, however, we’d like to remind you of some golden rules that you should follow whenever you’re online. That way, you have a better chance of staying safeguarded from the issues we encounter and read about with regularity.
1. Choose, use and protect your passwords carefully, and use a different one for every online account in case one or more get hacked.
2. Protect mobile devices with a PIN or passcode, and computers with an account password.
3. Ensure you always have internet security software loaded on computers and a similar app on your mobile devices, and that this is kept updated and switched on. (Yes, phones and tablets can get compromised too).
4. You can’t assume that Wi-Fi hotspots in places like cafes, bars and hotel rooms are secure, so never use them when you’re doing anything confidential online.
5. Never reveal too much personal or financial information … you never know who might see it, or use it. And remember that online or on the phone, people aren’t always who they claim to be.
6. Don’t click on links in emails, posts, tweets of texts – or open attachments – if the source isn’t 100% known and trustworthy, or it seems strange that you would be receiving them.
7. Take your time and think twice, because everything may not be as it seems.
8. Remember that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
