Top 6 Methods Specialists Agree Will Keep You Safe Online in 2023

We’re spending more time online than ever before. The number of people one would describe as “terminally online” has peaked. People work online, handle all their payments online, and even socialize mostly (or exclusively) online. This means that a cyber threat is more than just a minor privacy concern – it’s a threat to everything you do (everything you are).

Some breaches in the last few years have proved that even the top celebrities are not safe online. So, if all the money in the world can’t save you, what can? Here are the top six methods that most cybersecurity specialists believe to be the answer to this question.

Get antivirus for all your devices

The first thing you need is to get an antivirus for all the devices that you’re using. Sure, most people have an antivirus installed on their PC; however, what about their smartphone or tablet? The truth is that these alternative devices are more in danger than you know. Also, because most modern workplaces operate remotely or support a BYOD policy, you must be even more careful.

Second, you need to use your antivirus right. Each software has a scan feature, and while scanning is automatic, for the most part, it doesn’t hurt to start a manual scan now and again.

It’s also important that you keep your antivirus software updated. There are new methods and malware that hackers develop regularly. Fortunately, antivirus software developers do their best to keep up. To get these new protection protocols on your side, you need to update them regularly.

Finally, while even a free antivirus offers decent protection, paying for a premium antivirus is usually worth it. The problem is that this creates a paradox of sorts. A premium antivirus will make you feel so safe that it will seem like you didn’t need it. Remember that antivirus is like an insurance policy – you pay for it, hoping it will never have to pay off.

Learn how to recognize phishing

Phishing is a cybersecurity threat where a malicious third party creates a fake site that looks legitimate to try and trick people into trusting it enough to leave their info there.

The problem is that many people are completely unfamiliar with phishing. For instance, they receive an email about a request regarding their Instargam account and a link to follow. Now, unless they know exactly what to look for, they probably haven’t even noticed that it’s InstaRGam instead of InstaGRam. You probably haven’t noticed that we’ve made the same “typo” two sentences earlier, have you?

Phishing usually uses deceptive communication (implying something without explicitly claiming it), a pretense of legitimacy, or even pretending to be someone they’re not. For instance, if you’ve ever played World of Warcraft, you probably encountered a loading screen message saying that a Blizzard employee will never ask for your password. The same policy is in place in other enterprises, as well.

The only way to prevent this is to read about phishing and avoid sharing personal information without verifying the authenticity of the email/link. Also, being skeptical about unsolicited messages is never a bad idea.

Become better at making and managing passwords

Imagine a scenario where you use your brother’s birthday as your Instagram password. Imagine someone watching a story from your brother’s birthday party and trying to type in the date as your password, thus easily getting it. Now, imagine an even worse scenario where this is not just your IG password but a password you use for other platforms. It just keeps getting worse.

So, why don’t people use randomized passwords? The simplest answer is – they’re too difficult to remember. Instead, they pick something meaningful, but meaningful also means guessable. The truth is that even though you have the confidence that it’s hard to guess, you’re hardly objective about this issue. Chances are that the example from the previous paragraph never even crossed your mind.

So, how to best manage your passwords? How do you keep many unique random passwords and change them regularly (every 90 days or so)? The simplest answer is that you should use a reliable password manager. Picking a great tool for this task will drastically improve your online safety.

If you decide against using third-party software to resolve this issue, you should be more careful and consider some of our previous talking points.

Use VPN

Have you ever heard of swatting? This is a phenomenon where someone anonymously tips the police that you have a hostage situation going on in your home. It’s happened before due to online arguments or even internet trolling, and there were some instances in which these situations resulted in fatalities.

Now, think of your last heated online argument. If the other person had your home address, how likely would they try something along those lines? Also, can you think of other ways in which this could backfire? What if they placed a particularly bad order in your name for your significant other to see? What if they subscribed to something terrible or used this information to frame you?

They can learn your physical address via your IP address. There are other malicious things they can use your IP address for (like doxing, for instance). Fortunately, with a VPN, you can hide it quite effectively.

You must use VPN when browsing suspicious sites or just to increase your overall level of anonymity online. There are many free VPNs, but you can also pay for a premium one and enjoy the extra features.

Be careful when using public Wi-Fi

So many things can go wrong when you’re using public Wi-Fi as a means of communication. First of all, attackers can intercept your password. The data transmitted between your device and the Wi-Fi hotspot is not encrypted, so digital eavesdropping isn’t that hard to achieve.

Then, when hooking up to a public Wi-Fi, you never know if it’s the real deal or a fake hotspot designed to infect your device with malware or ransomware.

While you have probably heard about viruses, malware, and ransomware, the concept of Wi-Fi sniffing is probably still unknown. You have no idea how much data gets stolen this way, only to be used later by malicious third parties.

So, when using public Wi-Fi, ensure you’re extra careful. First, be careful what you do via these networks. For instance, avoid making financial transactions this way. Some guides suggest avoiding public Wi-Fi altogether, but this is completely unrealistic by today’s standards. At the very least, turn off your auto-connect feature. This way, you get to pass judgment when to connect.

Don’t accept people you don’t know on social media

Social media can be so hostile that even some of the most prominent urban music artists choose to speak up on this issue. The problem is that there’s no other solution than learning how to take care of yourself.

What a lot of people forget is that you have complete moderation power over your platform. You can unfriend, block, or simply not accept anyone you don’t know or deem a threat (in any way).

In one of our first sections, we discussed how someone could figure out your password by following your social media profile. Well, you decide what you upload but also what they can see.

The problem is that psychological phenomena like positivity bias make us believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty. While this is a sound principle for the judicial system, individuals on social media can seldom afford to make this gamble.

Remember that not all fake profiles are easy to spot from a mile away. Like phishing (discussed earlier), some social media accounts do an exceptional job of faking authenticity. So, it’s much simpler to reject accepting people simply based on not knowing them (and not having enough shared contacts).

Taking your cybersecurity seriously is your only way out

In the end, you must take all of this seriously. It’s not enough just to know what to do. It’s also not enough to do it once. All of these six methods need to become second nature. This is the only way to improve your cybersecurity seriously.

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.