Knowingly or unknowingly we do many things online which can reveal our identity and sensitive information.
In this blog post, I will be sharing some potential dangerous things we do online. Many times we do these stuff by mistake but have to pay a lot for the same. These can include anything like password issue or virus problem or any attack similar to this.
So without wasting time, let’s start with some common things we do online which should be avoided.
Potential Dangerous Things we should avoid
1. Keep me signed in
This is a standard practice for all of us to check the keep me signed in check box while logging into any website. Although most of the websites automatically keep this checked in by default, but one should check before pressing the log in button.
Here are some of the best practices to be protected from this-
- Never check the keep me signed in check box while logging in from public system
- Make sure you’re clearing the browser history and cookies before leaving the public system
- Don’t log in/sign up other sites using your Facebook/Google credentials on the public system. Because what happens you the source accounts usually get open. If you are also doing, make sure you are logging out from both the origin and destination websites.
2. Never save passwords
Usually, when you are logging in to any website using any browser, it asks whether you want to save your password or not.
It is always advisable to not store any passwords in the browser while you are using the public computers.
Even it is more recommended to use “browse in private mode” option while browsing any website being on the open systems.
3. Searching for celebrity gossip/model nude pics etc.
Many times people search for the hot celebrity gossip or sex tapes or similar kind of queries in search engines.
You will get a lot of search result for such queries terms. But the majority of these sites either contains illegal items or links which can lead to the malware stuff.
The best ways to get saved from these kinds of dangerous things are-
- Always look for the news websites for the gossips or latest celebrity news
- To get more specific news on celebrities, check the related pages and not in general.
- If you are willing to download videos, prefer https websites rather than HTTP
4. Don’t try to look for the pirated software/themes/docs
We have a normal human tendency to look for the free items. Usually, you search for the themes with the keyword free download, and you will find the Google search results filled with the pirated websites.
Usually the site admin keep some malware content/file in such themes which help them to hack or find the suitable details after installing. Avoid such situations.
Here are some common practices you should follow in this case-
- Don’t look for the free version of the premium items unless it is from official source
- If the free download link is generating popup windows, avoid following further
- Instead you can look for the discount codes or do a group buy
5. Don’t follow the win iPhone offers
There are more chances to find the offers like win iPhone or win millions of cash just by filling a simple form while browsing. I am sure you must have seen and even clicked such offers.
But one thing is sure; you are not going to win anything with such surveys. Who is going to give you an iPhone or millions of dollar just for filling a form?
Avoid clicking and filling such offers. They will simply grab your personal data, and there is a significant probability that it may leave virus as well.
6. Connecting to unknown wireless networks
Don’t simply try to connect to any open network. Most of the public networks are just a trap and may have been created to get your personal data.
Avoid directly connecting with such networks. Also, make sure your public settings are as below:
Public settings for your laptop should be for the local user and home network – e.g. no file sharing, increased firewall settings, etc.
7. Don’t play games at suspicious sites
Just to spend some time or fun people play games online. There is nothing harm in it until the time you are playing on authentic websites.
Usually, you will find many games available on Facebook itself. You can go through those but the links which redirect to external websites, try to avoid those.
These sites will simply ask you for registration and may request you for your credit card details as well. Try to avoid such sites for playing games. These may also leave the virus on your systems.
Conclusion
These were some of the very common dangerous things you might be doing online, or you can do. Try to take precautions while surfing online else you will be in huge loss.
Make sure the system’s firewall is up and working, and you have proper antivirus in place.
