Well, it doesn’t take a dimwit to understand the dangers of being connected to a public-hotspot. However, most people don’t give it a second thought and shrug off the notion that their identity could easily be stolen. Such attitudes can lead to regrettable consequences in the end.
Everyone is hopping on the Hotspot Bandwagon:
With folks relying more heavily in information technology, it’s no surprise that Hotspots are sprouting everywhere you look. Public and Private companies are also wasting no time jumping the Hotspot Bandwagon – hey it’s cool to be connected. Much to our demise, little do we know what security risks lie ahead?
The pitfalls of jumping on the Hotspot Bandwagon:
The warning message could be right in front of you “Unsecured Network”- are you going to ignore that? despondently, the answer is yes for the majority of the users. It seems that connecting to a free internet connection is too good of an opportunity to pass up for the bulk of us. Little do we know what security menace lies ahead? The reality is that Hotspots have been a virtual hunting ground for e-criminals. What can they possibly be hunting for, you say? Your data, that’s right, right about now you are asking yourself, what’s so special about my data? Well, let’s examine how e-criminals use your data to their advantage: take for example your online banking credentials, after gaining access to online banking user-name and password, an e-criminal logs-in and transfer’s your bank’s balance to an offshore account. Next time you login, you’ll be pulling your hair when a few thousand or in worst case scenario, several thousand dollars have magically disappeared from your bank account. Now, let’s look at another example of e-crime. While your connected to an unsecured network at your local barista, an identity thieve is skimming your laptops hard-drive remotely, he’s looking for anything related to your ID, and suddenly, viola, he finds your credit card statements in PDF format. Without further ado, he casually downloads them, and then, at a drop of a hat, he just as easily maxes out your credit card without you ever finding out about it. All this happens in a matter of few minutes – believe or not!
Your data is like a pot of gold for the cyber-evil-leprechaun:
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg, what most professional e-criminals can do with your data comprises of a long and endless list. However, now that you are aware of the risks; it’s time to learn how you can protect yourself on free Wifi hotspots.
Windows 8 rampant with software compatibility issues:
With Windows 8 now commercially available for purchase and the fact that most new computers come preloaded with it, chances are you’ll be running Windows 8 on your PC. Though, it may be a while before you can find any compatible data protection and security software that is designed to work with Windows 8 and helps your protect your data from the likes of hackers. As always, with a bit of searching, there’s always hope.
Anti-key logger software and data security software that work with Windows 8:
In order to protect data physically located on your computer’s hard-drive, experts recommend you install data encryption\locking software. With this software you can either lock or encrypt files, folders, drives and programs with relative ease. Software Folder Lock is considered the market leader in data encryption software and works with Windows 8.
To prevent key loggers from recording your online credentials, it’s recommended that save your e-credentials in the cloud, Last Pass software proven to do just that. With Last Pass you won’t have to worry about entering usernames and passwords on different sites, Last Pass stores all your login credentials in an encrypted format and decrypts it in the cloud. Meaning, your usernames and password cannot be recorded by even the most sophisticated key logging software.
The Causes and Effects of Data Breach
Data breach cases are increasing day by day, in 2008 there were only about 550 cases of such kind, in 2013 there have been more than 1400 cases are reported yet.
The Perfect Measure to Secure Data
Storing data in on a PC is always risky. There is always a fear of data getting stolen.
How to Make Your Private Data Secure
Securing your data is not a complex issue. You just need to keep your antivirus up to date; use software that can make your data secure by setting up a password on your folders.
