The pandemic has brought many changes to our lives. The biggest ones may not even be clear for years to come. One thing is for sure, from shopping to playing games, and watching movies, more of our lives have moved online.
With restrictions on public gatherings coming and going, it has been easier to transfer many of our activities to the digital sphere. It is a great idea to double up on your internet safety, as we increase our exposure to the web. Check out these four tips to stay safe online during a pandemic.
Take a break
As restrictions come and go, depending on local public health measures, we often find ourselves moving more and more of our lives online. Whether it be more video calls or whole new ways of using the internet. While this has been a great tool, it has also come with its problems for many of us.
Spending so much time online can be a lot of fun, but if we are not careful or using trusted sites, it can lead to more exposure to potential scams. it is not just the sheer fact of spending more time online means more exposure to online risks. It is more than that.
Spending hours in front of the screen can sometimes lead to being tired. This can bring our defences down. This is why taking a break is so important to stay safe online. It is not exactly the most hi-tech solution but is nonetheless absolutely vital.
Just a few minutes to have a glass of water, or take a walk around the block can mke all the difference. This is a preventative measure. Do not wait until you are too tired. You can even schedule these regularly if you know you will be enjoying a lot of screen time.
Use trusted third-party sites
If you do not know which sites are the best for you, it is great to get second opinions. By checking in with third-party sites, you can find out from other people’s experiences just how safe and secure your sites are. And you can find these lists for everything!
For instance, if you are looking for good free antivirus software, you can check the review of BitDefender. BitDefender is a high-quality antivirus program that is reliable and lightweight. One of the best things about it is that it is free! It is such a relief to be able to enjoy tough protection without breaking the bank.
It can also be helpful to have sites that guide us through offers that seem too good to be true. One example is this guide, which has evaluated the best no-deposit bonuses for casinos in South Africa. Getting a bonus for nothing can feel a little suspicious, which is why it is great to have people test them for you, while also explaining how to claim them and the terms and conditions.
Having a third-party site explain which options are the best for you is a great way to stay safe on the internet. As we move more activities online, we are likely to be signing up with new websites, whereas before, we would be going out to the physical locations. Do not hesitate to use these resources to keep yourself safe.
Keep those passwords strong
As we sign up at more and more online sites, we have to create a new password every time. Or, at least you should be. Sometimes we want to save time and mental space by using the same password at every site. This opens you up to potential hackers. Once they grab one password, they have them all.
It is highly advisable to have a different password for each website. This means that if one password is breached, it is not necessarily true that all the other ones would be as well. But, of course, this comes with the additional complication that you have to remember each password. This becomes even harder if they are strong passwords, without common words or phrases and with special characters and numbers.
You can solve this problem with a great password manager. If you are looking for a good one, you can check out these reviews. Password managers make it so that your passwords are stored on your computer behind a master password. Once you remember that one password, all the others are safe.
Using these tips will greatly increase your security online. While some of them may be familiar with you, it is always a good idea to have something of a refresher as more and more aspects of our lives are digitized.