8 Ways To Stay Safe Online in 2024

ad | Online safety is something none of us can get away from in 2024. Whether you’re like me and spend most of your life online as it’s your job or you use it occasionally to check in with family on Facebook and perhaps do a bit of online shopping. However much you use or don’t use the internet, safety is paramount.

Everyone with a Facebook account or an online banking account has to have practices in place to ensure their safety online. We absolutely cannot get lax with it, especially these days when everything and anything is online.

We’re learning more and more about the online world all the time. There are clever people out there, able and willing to do anything to hack your accounts, scam you, spam you and steal your money if they can.

But it is easy to get lax with these things, especially when you’re using the internet every day and nothing has ever happened to you on it to make you worry. But the risks are always there.

So, here are 8 ways to stay safe online in 2024:

Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network)

You’re going to want to get a vpn, which stands for Virtual Private Network. A VPN can help shield your online activity from hackers and scammers, mask your location and stop people intercepting your data. Of course it’s worth also doing your research into which VPN to invest in.

Have an anti-virus software in place

You should always have anti-virus software in place on any device you’re going to be sharing data, banking and spending any considerable amount of time on the internet. Anti-virus software can protect your devices against malicious software and attacks and ensure you update your software regularly.

Beware of cryptocurrency scams

With cryptocurrency gaining traction, so are the scams around it as well. You can easily lose a lot of money to these scams and the scammers are clever enough to make it sound like a no-lose situation. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Check your privacy settings on social media

I got hacked on Facebook a couple of years back. They changed my name to Daniel, changed my profile photo to a Golden Retriever then tried to buy a load of stuff on Facebook Marketplace in the US. It was super weird. I’ve seriously upped my privacy settings since!

It’s not just your social media these people can get a hold of. It’s important to keep your phone number safe too. If you do get any dodgy calls, you could Google and ask who’s calling me from this number to see what they come up with.

And turn on multi-factor authentication where possible

Following on from privacy settings on social media, most apps and platforms now allow you to turn on milti-factor authentication, which is a really strong way to prevent hackers coming in to your account. Even if they manage to get your email address and password, they’re still going to require an additional authentication that’s going straight to your device.

Create strong and unique passwords

Everyone knows this one already but it’s worth reiterating because we do forget and that’s the old passwords. Ensure they’re unique and strong, using a range of things like uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols (if allowed). Try and not use the same password for multiple accounts.

Be cautious of scam emails

Scam emails are everywhere. And not just emails. Phone calls, texts, Instagram messages – even scam sellers on Vinted! Most of us are accustomed to these now and know what to look for but scammers are very clever and sometimes, it doesn’t take much to trick us. Look 0ut for:

• Emails that spell your name wrong
• The address that the email is coming from
• Whether they’ve asked for personal details
• Threats – are they giving you a limited time to respond

If faced with an email that looks legit but you’re not sure, never click on the links in the email. If the email has “come from” somewhere like your bank or PayPal and it’s claiming something is wrong, contact your bank directly via their own website, never via the email that was sent.

This way they can tell you whether it actually was them who emailed you.

Try and avoid public Wi-Fi where possible

Public Wi-Fi puts you at risk of your data being stolen, especially by those known as “threat actors”, who set up fake public Wi-Fi networks for that very reasons. If you have data available on your phone and need to use the internet whilst you’re out, then choose that option.

But if you absolutely must use a public Wi-Fi – perhaps if you’re working from a coffee shop or need to jump on a Zoom call – try and avoid doing anything too sensitive, like banking and ensure you have your VPN in place.

What methods do you use for staying safe online?