5 Ways to Be Protected from Cyber Crimes

Cybercrime, also known as computer crime, is any time of criminal activity that occurs using a computer or the Internet. Such crimes can be devastating and cause great harm to the victim; types of cybercrimes include child pornography, copyright infringement, phishing scams, and fraud or identity theft. Even more serious potential cybercrimes include cyber terrorism and cyber warfare, both of which are becoming more and more common following the increased worldwide use of the Internet. To protect yourself from becoming a victim of the devastating effects of cybercrime, follow the 5 Ways to Be Protected from Cyber Crimes listed below.




1. Exercise caution when surfing the web. That means if you shop online, only buy from websites that you trust to be secure or have had numerous experiences with. If you have never heard of or interacted with a particular website, make sure to do your research beforehand to determine its credibility. Entering your personal information on an unprotected or fraudulent website can have disastrous consequences which can easily be avoided by remaining alert.

2. Even the best cyber protection can fail, so it is important that you regularly monitor your financial statements to ensure that you are not a victim of fraudulent activity. If you see anything suspicious or out-of-the-ordinary going on in your account, you can contact your bank and take steps to ensure it won't happen again.

3. This may seem like a given, but use anti-virus software on your computer to protect yourself against cybercrime. This software can be a strong deterrent to any scams or viruses. Everyone should invest in good software, no matter how immune to viruses you think your computer is. Decent antivirus software can save you a lot of hassle and worry. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you have a iMac means that you're impervious to viruses; while they are less of a target, they are still vulnerable to cyber criminals.

4. Take your time thinking of strong passwords to use for important things such as logging into your computer and Smartphone, or looking at sensitive information such as your bank account. This may seem fairly obvious, but the number of people who have their accounts hacked is a warning to you that only the strongest passwords can resist entrance. Try to make your password complicated and understandable only to you, with at least eight symbols or more. You may want your password to be simple and easy to remember, but don't choose anything too obvious or you may come to regret it.

5. Another way to protect yourself from cybercrime is to use different passwords for different accounts. It is not a good idea to use a common password for everything; once a hacker finds out, it will be a relatively simple task to commit crimes like identity theft. If remembering too many passwords proves to be difficult, try to use small variations of the same password.


If you want more information on cybercrime, or if you need to find out more tips to help prevent against it, call the Norton helpline for assistance today.

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