The number of crimes has increased with the increase in the use of social media.According to the Nepal Police, 4,169 cyber crime complaints have been registered in the last one year. Among all this frauds and crimes ,the major complain that people have filed is that their social media password have been hacked.
Taking this crime into consideration
What can be done to prevent password hacking? What can be done to prevent cyber crime?
1.Don’t access personal or financial data with public Wi-Fi.
This may seem like a non-issue, but you’d be surprised how many people check their bank accounts or make purchases with a credit card while using public Wi-Fi. It’s best to do those things on a secure connection.
2.Turn off anything you don’t need.
Keeping your GPS, wireless connection and Geo-tracking on all the time,the hacker’s can use certain features on your phone to get at your information, location or connection. So, just turn them on whenever required otherwise you can turn off anything that you don’t need.
3.Use a password, lock code or encryption.
Never use the auto-complete feature for passwords.You have to make sure your passwords are at least eight characters long, with a mix of upper and lower case, and include numbers or other characters..The use of storage encryption feature on your phone to protect your private data
4.Choose your apps wisely.
Only download apps from trustworthy sources that have established a good reputation. Make sure you update your software and apps regularly and get rid of old apps you don’t use.
5.Trace or erase.
You can set up your device to lock itself after a pre-set number of failed log-in attempts.Make sure your data is secure if your mobile device is stolen or lost.
6.Be skeptical about links and attachments.
Never use the link or attachment ,if you are sure about the source.
7.Adopt passphrases as a standard.
An effective passphrase(a sentence like string of words used for authentication that is longer than a traditional password, easy to remember and difficult to crack) should include numbers and symbols as well as letters. Users may remember passphrases more easily than passwords.Some password policies require users to create a passphrase as opposed to a password.
8.Do not use personal details.
This password policy encourages users to create passwords with no link to the user’s personal information.If a hacker has access to personal details about a particular user (such as through social media), they will try password combinations using this information.
9.Use different passwords for different accounts.
Password policies should require users to differentiate security from convenience and disallow users from using the same password for all of their accounts.
10.Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.
Use of two factor authentication makes hacker much more difficult to break into your accounts.
In annex, passwords are constantly under attack as they probably provide one of the easiest ways hackers can crack your environment.Passwords are one of the weakest links in the overall cybersecurity.These steps can protect your accounts from hacking.It is very important to initiate these steps in your personal daily life to protect yourself from cyber crimes.
