Friday, March 17, 2017

4 ways to minimise your spying risk

1. Create strong passwords
eyes open
Whether it's your smartphone, computer, tablet, or home IoT devices, always make sure you have the latest software updates installed. Aside from bug fixes and aesthetic changes, updates almost always include patches for newly discovered security flaws that could leave your device vulnerable if left unchecked.
Many apps request location access in order to provide better services. While this may be essential for food delivery services and the like, you can do without a precise location on most other apps. Use Android's built-in tools to ration permissions to your apps. For instance, denying location access to your social media app lets it still function just fine, and that game you just downloaded, doesn't really need to use your camera, does it? Covering your PC's camera may not stop a hacker from breaking into your system, but it will ensure no one can obtain private footage to use against you. If the idea makes you feel strange, take note that even tech icon Mark Zuckerberg keeps his laptop camera permanently taped up.
One of the most common ways a hacker can gain access to your information, and sometimes the easiest, is through your account passwords. Use a healthy mix of letters, numbers, and special characters, and never ever use the same password for multiple accounts. If you worry your memory will fail, use a password manager service to generate complex sequences for you, which you can manage with one master password.
With the recent CIA document leak, conspiracy theorists have long been confirmed in what they've been saying - that no device is really safe from hackers, not even your televisions. So if you find yourself in the grips of paranoia, calm down. Here are a few easy precautions you can take to minimize the risk of malicious hackers spying on you.


Source: DNA-15th March, 2017