10 Cybersecurity Memes to Think About

Best cybersecurity memes to laugh at and keep in mind 

We’re going to make fun out of different topics from phishing, to DDoS attacks, and doxxing. Get yourself comfortable, and onto security awareness memes! 

Password management is lifeblood of cybersecurity

Creating strong passwords is the foundation of cybersecurity. When you need to come up with a reliable password, it obviously shouldn’t be 123, while 456 instead won’t help much either. The plainer and more predictable your passwords are, the less time a hacker will need to crack them. 

For that reason, we highly recommend installing password management software that can help you generate and securely store all your passwords. However, your password manager has to be trustworthy enough. Otherwise, you’ll just entrust all your passwords to a third party that God knows how will use this information. We suggest using 1Password, Keeper Dashlane or BitWarden. These are good password managers that won’t collect your personal information. 

Personal information sharing is bad (even if tempting) 

The Internet is full of various scams. Ads, discount coupons, prizes, rewards, and other free stuff entice you to click on a suggested link or leave your personal information. No matter how good the offer sounds, just ignore it and never share your private information.  

The one thing you need to keep in mind is that there is no such thing as a free cheese. Free offers are always a scammy trap, and exceptions rarely happen. That’s a cruel and unjust world of the Internet as it is. Take this as an axiom, and you won’t fall victim to fraudsters. 

Phishing is a thing to be careful about

This phishing email meme is simple: if you don’t check your email, there are zero chances you’ll click on a phishing link inside letters you received. No email — no phishing. 

But if you still need to check your inbox, be careful with clicking on links from unknown and suspicious senders. Just like scams, phishing emails work in the same way: they attempt to entice or frighten you to click on a link without thinking. As a result, you’ll install malware on your device or leak your personal information directly into scammers’ hands.  

Both scenarios are definitely bad, so don’t open emails promising you a prize, a lot of money inherited from a relative you’ve never heard of, or just being sent by a stranger you didn’t expect to email you. But if you’ve already clicked on a phishing link, here’s a guide on what you should do. 

A celebrity can be a scammer

We’ve talked about sophisticated scams that attempt to manipulate you to get your personal information. However, people get scammed with simple yet very impudent strategies like the one you can see in the meme above. 

Using a fake account of a celebrity, government official, relative, or friend to look legit in your eyes is the main tactic of such scams. Pay attention to the language a person uses. Scam messages usually sound awkward and generic, avoiding the details. 

Using public WiFi is a huge risk 

Using a public WiFi hotspot is convenient as you have free Internet access and all that. But guess what? Hackers and scammers think in the same way! Public networks are often unprotected meaning that hackers can use them to steal personal information from unsuspecting people using the same WiFi hotspot. 

For that reason, using public WiFi is an immense risk. The good news is that you can safeguard yourself by using a virtual private network (VPN) app. A VPN creates a separate “tunnel” which all your Internet traffic goes through and becomes a bunch of symbols extremely hard to decipher. Even though hackers succeed in intercepting your sensitive information, they won’t be able to read it. 

But be careful with free VPNs as they won’t protect your information for real. To make money, free VPN services sell your information to third parties like advertising agencies, so you won’t be really private with a free VPN app. 

Malware downloading means you’re in trouble 

If you downloaded software that promised you to install all apps you need or provide access to free content, it’s not a reason to cheer about. In fact, it means you’ve installed malware which just makes an impression of a super useful and convenient solution. 

Again, too-good-to-be-true offers on the Internet equals danger. That’s why we highly recommend you refrain from downloading and installing such ultra-helpful apps. They can really help you solve your tasks, but it’s very likely your device will be infected with a virus and your personal information will be stolen. 

Malware may be masked not only as a convenient superapp but also hide behind phishing links or even be fileless. Despite being so tricky, malware is relatively easy to deal with.

First of all, just don’t download any suspicious files from sites you barely know. Second, install applications from legitimate sources such as Google PlayStore, Apple’s AppStore, and so on. Third, use VeePN which has antimalware tool called NetGuard. This app blocks all pop-up ads and detects any malware you may encounter while surfing the web. 

A spoofed website always looks odd

A spoofed website is an imitation of a legitimate website that usually contains malware or collects your personal information. Spoofed websites may look just like legitimate ones but always have a strange design or weird URL names. 

For example, amazon.com and amaz0n.com do look alike. But if you go to amaz0n.com you’ll end up at a spoofed website that will steal your data and no products in return. 

There is no better weapon against spoofed websites than your attention. Check the URLs of such popular websites as: Amazon, BestBuy, PayPal, Netflix, and such. Design and URL addresses of legit sites are always easy to recognize. So if you have doubts, it’s better to double-check whether you are going to visit a completely secure site. 

Botnets are unwelcome guests on your device 

If your device slows down all of a sudden, there is a high chance it has been infected with a botnet that uses your Internet connection and computing resources for a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

But even if the attack is over, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your device is healthy. The malicious software won’t disappear itself and slow down relapse can happen once again for another attack. 

The best way to protect your device from botnets is to use antivirus software to detect and eliminate such a threat. VeePN offers a special security bundle that includes antivirus and breach alert apps that will help you shield your devices from viruses, cyber attacks, and other dangers threatening your online security. 

Stalking and doxxing are just disgusting 

Stalkers follow their victims everywhere trying to doxx them, or in other words, reveal all their personal information for blackmailing and making it publicly available. A stalker’s motivation can vary from just having fun annoying a victim to assaulting real people. 

That is why you need to remember basic safety tips that can help you prevent stalkers from following and doxxing you. First of all, don’t share much of your personal information like address, phone number, names of your relatives and so on. In the same vein, we don’t recommend you share any other details of your private life such as your hobbies, favorite places, people you often meet with, and anything else that stalkers can use to track you down. 

In addition, you can use a VPN app to mask your real IP address. Since VPN connects to a remote server, your device gets an IP address of a server’s location, so a stalker won’t be able to detect your real whereabouts.  

IP address hacking is easy to beat with a VPN

Your IP address is one of the biggest vulnerabilities, which can be hacked and become a starting point for a broader attack. By hijacking your IP address, a hacker can intercept all your Internet traffic and get access to your personal information. Consequently, you can end up losing money on your credit cards or being blackmailed that all photos on your device will go online if you don’t pay a ransom. 

You can avoid these risks by using VeePN. The application has access to 2,500 servers in 89 locations, so you can choose any to conceal your identity. Hackers simply won’t be able to see your real IP address and your traffic since it goes through a separate tunnel to a remote server and gets encrypted on its way. On top of that, you can add an extra layer of security by using a Double VPN feature which encrypts your traffic twice: on its way to a remote server and after reaching it. 

Keep your cybersecurity a top priority with VeePN

These computer security memes are an ironic view on online safety and what people think about it. But every joke has a bit of truth, which means you shouldn’t take your Internet privacy for granted. 

To keep these funny cybersecurity memes just a bunch of silly pictures and never become your terrible reality, keep remembering the basic security rules and use VeePN. Compatible with the majority of devices and operating systems, VeePN will protect your sensitive information with AES 256-bit encryption and ensure you stay anonymous while surfing the web. 
Get VeePN now to safeguard up to 10 devices with one subscription and have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.

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