Ways Your Habits Alert Hackers to Vulnerabilities

You would never hand out the key to your house to a perfect stranger, right? But, really, what’s the harm? They don’t know where you live. Wouldn’t it be just a useless hunk of metal?

That’s crazy thinking, isn’t it?! Why take that chance, and it is always possible someone could figure out where you live. When you use electronics, you’re opening yourself up to similar risks almost as alarming. There are things you’re doing that might as well be handing a key to your personal data to a hacker.

Public Consumption of Wi-Fi

Your use of wi-fi is most likely leaving you vulnerable to hackers. There are signs that you’re not protected, and hackers are on the watch.

• Internet Security. It’s so common today for wi-fi access to be a service provided by a coffee house, library, or other public space. We hop on, log in, and leave ourselves vulnerable. If you don’t have security on your device, you’re opening the door for hackers. You flip on the Internet as quickly as you ordered coffee, telling hackers that there aren’t any firewalls, passcodes, or web browser protocols in place. It’s just as easy for hackers to access your system then through this public portal.

• Privacy Shields. When you’re on a laptop at a public place, do you use a privacy screen? Most of us rely on the social norms of manners that would prohibit someone from looking over our shoulder at the screen. That works for a majority of the world, but when it comes to hackers, they are not afraid to break those norms and do not observe niceties. Looking over your shoulder can tell them at glance a wealth of information about you.

Password Policies

This might seem old news, but it’s still a prevalent issue for most users. Passwords are a necessary nuisance, so most of us take for granted that we use them everywhere and get careless about setting good ones. We don’t see that one bad password can crack open our privacy by hackers.

• Name Game. Since almost every single site or app requires a password now, it’s still a popular option to use your name or the name of a family member as an easy-to-remember code. Unfortunately, it’s relatively easy for a hacker to learn your name, apply an algorithm, and discover your password. Really, hackers can apply an algorithm anyways to crack your password, name or not, unless you have a password program in place that truly scrambles the algorithm.

• Same for Each. It’s tough to have a unique password when every site or app asks for one. How in the world are you supposed to remember them all? Well, too many are in the habit of using the same password or pattern to make it easier. The best way to manage passwords is through a program that creates, stores and applies passwords across all devices. It’s the golden key that lets you into everything but keeps hackers out.

It’s time to break the habits that leave you vulnerable to hackers. You can protect yourself with some simple changes that protect your data and remove yourself from the hackers’ radar.

As a matter of fact, passwords are the first line of defense and best form of protection against hackers, and they deserve much more time and effort. Next month, the issue will take a closer look at using password vault apps to continue the discussion and focus more on password protection. So, stay tuned, there’s more to come!

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