The recent Heartbleed bug had a lot of people worried. Heartbleed was a security vulnerability in a popular piece of software used on websites called OpenSSL. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the common method used to secure websites that require you to log in and share sensitive information. Anytime you see https:// in a URL rather than the normal http://, the site is using SSL technology.
The Heartbleed bug was a vulnerability that allowed hackers to get into servers and perform what’s called a man in the middle attack. This attack allows hackers to see all the information you enter, mainly your password. Most sites that were using OpenSSL quickly alerted their users to change their passwords, but there are some security best practices that you can follow in order to minimize your vulnerability to internet security threats.
One of the biggest problems on the internet is that most people use a password on more than one website. This is a bad idea because if someone gets your password they could then go around to other common sites that you might have an account on and try that password. If you have more than one public email address and they all use the same password, forget it. The hacker didn’t just gain access to your personal email address, they just got access to your work email as well.
One of the most common excuses for using the same password on every site is the convenience. Having to refer to a book every time you wanted to log into a website you don’t visit often would be inconvenient and time consuming. Plus, what if the book gets lost? For most people it’s easier to say one password and done. The problem with that is if you use the one password and done system, something like the Heartbleed but could be a complete disaster for you.
I’ll admit, I used to use the one password and go system when I was younger. It’s more convenient and I didn’t know any better. However, there is free service that makes it very easy for you to have a unique password for every website you visit. This service is called Lastpass. It’s free on the computer and can be used as an extension on most common web browsers so passwords can be automatically entered. Every time you sign up at a new website you can have Lastpass generate a secure random password and save it for you. This is a simple way to make your online activities more secure.
Now, let me be clear. Having a unique password on every website is a very good security measure, but it’s simply one of many. There are other things that can be extremely bad for your online security. For example, just because what’s on your screen appears to be the Facebook login page doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the Facebook login page. Always look at the url and make sure it’s the correct one (in this case https://facebook.com/) and if it’s not, report it to the website immediately so they can take proper action.
Using public wifi can be very risky. If you’re going to use public wifi it’s a good idea to use a VPN if you intend to do anything you wouldn’t want hackers to have access to. If you’re just going to be doing basic mindless web browsing there’s little to worry about, but if you want to do any serious work it would be a good idea to use a VPN. Most large companies that provide laptops to employees have a VPN set up for use outside of work. There are many guides on how to set up a VPN.
Lastly, keeping your computer secure is critical. One virus on your computer just makes you more vulnerable to other viruses. Also, know that antivirus won’t protect you from all viruses, and antivirus programs also won’t be able to detect most viruses. Also note that the only true way to remove a virus is to backup your critical data, format the hard drive, and re install Windows. Remember that most viruses find their way into a computer due to human error.
You can never be too secure on the computer and especially when using the internet.