In honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Banterra Bank is here to draw attention to an important topic of conversation. These tips will help us all become more aware of how to stay safe and secure online, whether you’re shopping, working, researching or simply browsing.
Understand That Hackers Are Out There
It’s hard to imagine actually being a victim of a cybercrime if you’ve never experienced it before. According to Legaljobs, about 4,000 cybercrime attacks take place daily in the United States. This is a very real issue, so make sure you take the precautions seriously so you don’t become part of the statistic.
Choose Unique Passwords
One of the most important cybersecurity tips is to have strong, secure passwords. This means avoiding passwords that include things like your first or last name, birthday, city/state or any other personal information. Passwords can be easily guessed by hackers if they’re not unique, so choose a password with a variety of characters including lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers and special characters. Additionally, the use of passphrases is encouraged. Passphrases are longer strings of texts that typically makes up a phrase or sentence. Sentences are easier to remember and harder to crack.
Practice Good Password Management
Rather than sticking to one password for multiple accounts, switch up the passwords you use. If you have a hard time remembering multiple passwords, take advantage of password managers. They can house all of your information in one location which makes having unique passwords much easier to manage.
Turn On Automatic Updates
Many people make the mistake of not keeping their software up to date. If there are security updates to be made on your device, make sure you install those as soon as possible. To make things even easier, you can turn on automatic updates so you don’t have to worry about missing an update.
Only Use Trusted Sources
If you’re big into online shopping, this tip is extremely important for you. There are countless websites out there that aren’t legit and will scam you, taking your money, information or both. Make sure any website you visit and purchase items from is a trusted source with customer reviews and a good reputation. Also, Banterra offers tools for safely shopping online, such as Visa® SRC and Visa Secure. Visa SRC allows you to enter your card information in a secure Visa website environment and then simply click a Visa SRC payment button when shopping on websites. Visa Secure offers a password-protected authentication system designed to confirm the identity of the cardholder when a Visa card is used.
Keep An Eye Out For Suspicious Emails
Phishing scams occur when someone sends a fraudulent message to trick someone into revealing information that can be used against them. Before even opening the email, first verify that you recognize the sender. Don’t click on links, download files or enter information until you have confirmed that the sender is legitimate.
Banterra Bank wants you to be as safe as possible while you’re online. This October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we wanted to remind you of these important tips. You can do your part and share this blog so others can be reminded also.
October 4, 2021 by Banterra Bank
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