Facebook users in the UK have been warned that they are at risk of identity theft and may already have been targeted. Analysts believe the hackers will target users in the Christmas period. This is due to the fact they are showing personal information on their profiles. This might include their address, telephone number or email. This information can be used in a number of ways by skilled hackers to get the information they need. Forgotten passwords are often reset using phone numbers and email accounts. Addresses are commonly used in security question answers. If a skilled hacker has this information, it doesn’t take much for them to get into accounts.
This isn’t the first warning that users on social networks have had of hacking recently. Earlier this week, Twitter users were also warned that their information could have been stolen in the hack. It seems clear that hackers are becoming more skilled at getting the information that they want. Or, perhaps a dependency on technology has left far more holes in security than we imagined. Regardless, the general public should be asking one question. What can we do to keep our information secure?
Careful What You Share
The first step is to consider what information you are sharing online. Your accounts should have the privacy settings functioning, and random people should not be able to view your information. But even this won’t stop hackers accessing your account. To avoid losing information make sure that is isn’t there in the first place. It’s important that you don’t share the details we mentioned above on your account or write it anywhere online. Unless you know that the forms you might be filling in are secure. Many people find extra bank checks online annoying. They do not understand that sites that have these checks are doing more to protect their users.
Protective Services
It is possible to purchase extra protection for your personal information. You can do this using Lifelock. Lifelock offers its customers full protection of their personal information. People will not be able to make purchases on your accounts without you realising. Customers are also able to halt credit transfers if necessary. It’s an extra precaution analysts certainly recommend people start considering.
Passwords And Encryptions
Of course, it’s not just about what you share online. It’s also about what you store on your computer that you hope people can’t access. The truth is that if you have ever accessed a public network, it’s frighteningly easy for a hacker to get into your hard drive and take it over, remotely. Once they have access, they’ll be able to get any information you’re storing on your computer. This might include bank statements or invoices. To prevent this from happening, you should be placing encryptions on any sensitive files and make sure files are properly deleted. Remember, deleting a file from the recycling bin does not destroy it completely. It remains on the computer hard drive. Unavailable to you but completely accessible to hackers.
The dangers to our personal information are increasing. We must understand this and take the precautions necessary to protect our financial welfare.