Today marks the twenty-first edition of “Safer Internet Day”, an international day, established and promoted by the European Commission, to make young users reflect on the conscious use of the Internet, but also on the active and responsible role of each one in the creation of the Internet as positive and safe place. When browsing the web, in fact, it is important to pay particular attention as the risk of falling into the trap of some hacker and thus losing sensitive data and information is always around the corner. Online solicitation, online gaming apps, cyberbullying and online challenges are just some of the dangers of unsafe online browsing that especially affect teenagers.
Safer Internet Day aims to involve schools, families, public bodies and organizations in promoting the use of the internet as a safer place. HWG Sababa, an Italian company specializing in the provision of services in the cyber sector, joins the chorus of this day aimed at promoting browsing safety and warns against all threats of malware, phishing, online scams, identity theft, which they don't just affect kids but the entire population. The Internet is in fact a complex place, populated by multiple realities and people, each of which participates with contents, images, videos, comments, likes, profiles etc. and, consequently, can contribute to making the network a safe place or, at on the contrary, a dark and dangerous virtual space. HWG Sababa, on the occasion of this day, reiterates some simple and useful tips for safer navigation in order to avoid being a victim of cyber attacks:
• Keep software and operating systems updated: criminals could exploit vulnerabilities in operating systems or browsers, which we use to browse the internet, to steal data, such as banking codes or credentials.
• Use passwords with good complexity and enable two-factor authentication: the complexity of passwords (i.e. having numbers, special characters, lowercase and uppercase) makes it more complex for an attacker to crack them. Adding dual authentication, using apps like Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator, allows you to add an additional layer of authentication and decreases the risk of an account being stolen if your password is compromised.
• Use different passwords: To avoid compromising all the accounts in our possession, in the event of password theft, it would be good practice to use a different credential for each online platform, or at least have at least 3 or 4 to use in rotation. In this way, even in the event of a data breach and exposure of your credentials, the risk of account theft will decrease.
• Check URLs: Among the various methods that cybercriminals use to deceive users on the Internet is to modify the URL to make it appear to be an authentic site. Through this technique, hackers can trick you into visiting an apparently authentic and trustworthy website, where you are asked to change your password, and then redirect you to an identical, but malicious website, in order to steal all your information and data sensitive. To avoid falling for these scams, it is essential to check the URLs you access, ensuring that the website has an SSL security certificate. If the site has a security certificate, the letter “s” (https://) will appear in the address bar. “Raising public awareness of the problems of online browsing is essential because the risk of being the victim of a hacker attack is always very high. Paying attention when browsing the web or when using platforms is the first step to take to protect yourself from possible dangers. Furthermore, by following some simple advice we can lower the risk of attacks, allowing users to navigate more safely and consciously”, says Andrea Saturnino, ICT Security Specialist at HWG Sababa.
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