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Why Awareness is Key to Internet Safety

With so much of today’s world, both business and personal, taking place online, it is more important than ever that you can stay safe online. This article aims to explain exactly why awareness is the key to internet safety and outline a few ways that you can work to protect yourself online.

The Importance of Awareness

The reason that awareness is so important online is that, unfortunately, there are a plethora of disingenuous and dangerous sites on the internet that could cause damage to both your computer and your personal information if you are unlucky enough to click onto one unknowingly. Fortunately, although there are many threats to contend with online, the majority of them need you, as the user, to make a mistake to trigger them. This is how proper awareness online can work to protect you.

How to Be More Aware Online

Therefore, becoming more aware of the threats that await online is one of your best defenses against those selfsame threats and a brilliant way to keep yourself protected online.

Know Your Threats. There are many different kinds of malware that you could fall victim to online, and other threats besides, so it always pays to spend some time finding out about different threats online. Things like phishing, which you can learn about on the Proofpoint website, and spam, are common ways hackers try to invade your system with malware. Knowing how to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate communications is one way to protect yourself from these kinds of attacks.

Make Use of Antivirus Services. Another great way to keep yourself protected from these kinds of attacks is to use antivirus software that scans emails and websites to ensure you don’t accidentally endanger yourself online. These are incredibly easy to use and convenient, which means getting one should be a no-brainer.

Why Quick Response to Threats is Vital

If you do happen to fall victim to a cyber-attack, then responding quickly is the key to protecting your information and minimizing the damages that the attack can cause. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to keep your information safe online.

How to Keep Your Information Safe

One of the best ways to keep your information safe is to limit what can be reasonably found by hacking or infecting your machine.

Use a VPN. A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a brilliant way to anonymize your location online by routing your connection through servers in multiple countries. This can protect your IP address and keep aggressive influences online away from you.

Make Use of Two-Factor Authentication. Additionally, using two-factor authentication on any and all services that allow it means that you can ensure that nobody but you can access your accounts, even if they were to find out your details.

Use a Password Manager. Speaking of your details, a great way to further protect your information is to use a password manager, such as Bitwarden, to keep track of your passwords. This allows you to use different passwords for all of your services without losing track, which will make your accounts that much more secure.