Online Security and Privacy News

Nowadays, passwords are your primary security against online hackers. Your personal information can be in danger even on your email, social media, bank, or streaming account due to poor password hygiene. It is also important to change your email password regularly to avoid illegal access and minimize the chances of account theft. Cybercriminals would always want to have access to your accounts through weak or recycled passwords, hence adhering to the good password practices is a must. Reusing passwords or using the same passwords on more than one site is also a very big risk as having one of the sites compromised may lead to the compromise of all the accounts that share that password. As a way of improving your online security, do not use the same password on all the accounts. In case your accounts are hacked, your personal data, such as credit card details, can fall into wrong hands, particularly when accessing online services or when connected to insecure networks. It is essential to adhere to strong password conventions, which include using different and complex passwords and changing passwords frequently, to keep an account safe. However, although the majority of the population knows that they need strong passwords, there is one burning question: how frequently should they be changed? The rationale behind frequent password change is quite simple: it decreases the possibility of continued access by hackers in case your passwords become compromised. The best practices are to be unraveled, the myths investigated, and the cases of when the password change is an absolute must to be pointed out.

A virus and malware are terms that are interchangeably used in the cybersecurity world. Nevertheless, malware and virus are different terms in cyber security. However, they are similar but not identical. Malware and virus are often interchanged, however malware is an umbrella term of malicious software and a virus is a type of malware that can replicate and infect other files. Knowing how malware and a virus are different, and how their meanings differ, is an essential part of making your digital life a safe one - whether it is personal information, playing online, or running a business.