With the passage of time, the good and bad sides of the internet are continuously evolving. In a few words, it can be said that the internet is a pool of malicious links, Trojans, and viruses. Data breaches are becoming frequent and unsuspecting users approaching vulnerability. Now, can you imagine one single click can cost you thousands or even millions sometimes? So, what’s your responsibility in staying alert and safe online? Here are our Top Cyber Security Tips for the users.
Top Cyber Security Tips – Are You Cyber Aware With These 5?
1. Catch Software Updates
Be it for consumers or businesses, your system is always prone to various kinds of ransom attacks or Trojan attacks. So, one of the Top Cyber Security Tips is to patch out the outdated software from your machine, both the operating system and applications. Basically, you are removing critical vulnerabilities that can potentially access and harm your device. Few things you can do are to:
- Activate automatic system updates on your system or device
- Ensure that your desktop web browser fetches automatic security updates from the web.
- Check updates for all your web browser plugins like Flash, Java, etc.
- Keep checking different blogs on patch management practices.
2. Seek Antivirus and Firewall Protection
Firewalls play a key role in protecting your data against malicious attacks. Basically, a firewall is helpful in screening out the hackers, intruders, viruses, and other malicious actions occurring over a period of time while accessing the Internet. The firewall helps you to understand what is authorized and what is unauthorized to enter your device network. Generally, Windows and Mac OS offer their own layers of firewalls named Windows Firewall and Mac Firewall respectively. Moreover, your router should have an inbuilt firewall layer to prevent attacks on your network.
3. Use Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor and multi-factor authentication protection is common in practice, be it mobile apps or mobile OS services. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication service tends to add multiple layers of security to the standard password way of online identification. Without a two-factor authentication method, the user has to just enter the username and password. But, with the execution of two-factor, you are asked to enter one additional authentication code referred to as Personal Identification Code. It may be an OTP or fingerprint. While in multi-factor authentication, you are prompted to enter multiple authentication phases after entering your username and password.
4. Choose Strong Passwords
Choosing a strong password is one of the best Network security practices. Mostly, online users are unaware and don’t know to write a password for authentication forms. Therefore, it’s important to keep secure passwords that are out of plain sight. Hence it’s recommended to set a strong password for online accounts. By strong password, we mean that a combination of characters that is difficult to detect by humans and computers. Generally, it should be at least 6 characters or more and must use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols.
5. Learn Phishing Scams
We have been constantly hearing about phishing scams that are actually very nasty. Usually, in a phishing scheme attempt, the attacker tries to be someone else. Optionally, the sender can trick the recipient through private credentials, clicking a malicious link, or opening a spam attachment that infects the user’s system with viruses, trojan, or other vulnerabilities. Such activities together lead to a ransomware attack. As per facts, 90% of ransomware attacks begin with phishing attempts.
Top Cyber Security Tools – Monitoring Network Is No More Trickier
Argus is among free and open-source tools used for analyzing network traffic. The tool works exactly what the acronym says. It performs an efficient and detailed analysis of network data, moving big chunks of traffic through a comprehensive reporting system. Not just a traffic monitoring tool, it also forms a solid foundation for users over the network.
P0f, released a decade before, is a streamlined and efficient system that helps in preventing additional traffic. It works by identifying the OS of the host with which it interacts. These tools forms probes, name lookups, assorted queries, and more. P0f is basically a light and fast service developed for advanced users. The only setback is that it is not that easy to learn for the rookies on the team.
Nagios is another tool to monitor user hosts, systems, and networks that are actually delivering alerts in real-time. Users have to simply specify what message they want to notify the users. The program is compatible with services including HTTP, NNTP, ICMP, POP3, and SMTP. Specifically, Nagios stands for traffic monitoring. In a few words, it is said as a sorted approach to network management. It ranks among the most powerful and free tools for cybersecurity professionals and even for small businesses.
Splunk is designed for both real-time analysis and performing searches over historical data. In fact, Splunk is listed as a fast and versatile network monitoring tool. The tool offers a user-friendly interface featuring a strong search function to monitor applications conveniently. Though Splunk is a paid app, you can find its free versions to download. However, the free version is available with limited functionalities. Therefore, Splunk is an excellent tool for those who have a good budget. Optionally, who has a strong client base who can invest in Splunk?
OSSEC is among the open-source intrusion detection services that offer real-time analytics for various system security events. The tool can be configured differently for monitoring potential sources of entry and access, involving files, rootkits, logs, registries, and processes. This tool is also available for a variety of platforms, like Linux, Windows, Mac, BSD, and VMWare ESX as the OSSEC user community leverages quality support for the network users.