Staying Safe Online

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For many of us, social media has become a natural part of our daily lives. In our attempts to be “online” and part of the conversation, we can forget the important elements of sharing smartly and thinking twice before we press that “post” button.

Social Media Safety

It is recommend to keep your social media profiles set to private and only connect with people who you know and trust.

• Don’t share anything online that you wouldn’t want made public. Any information posted on social media can fall into the wrong hands.

• Always think twice before posting work-related information on any social media.

• Watch out for posts that trick you into sharing more than you intended.

• Personal details, such as your pet’s name or the year you were born, can be used by hackers to guess passwords, answer security questions, or even impersonate you on social media. Keep this in mind when sharing to social media as well as when setting security questions across accounts and services.

Google Yourself

Have you ever typed your name or email address into a search engine like Google or Bing?

• You may find old photos of yourself, or an old user account from a forgotten social network or blog that is still associated with your name.

• By searching and analyzing your online presence, you can take steps to remove content or delete accounts that you may not want strangers to see.

Malvertising

Malicious advertising, known as malvertising, is when hackers use infected ads to spread malware or to trick users into providing sensitive information.

• Most websites visited will have some sort of advertising, such as ad banners on the side of the page or a video playing within the page itself. Some ads are based on your past browsing history.

• If you click on a malicious ad, you may be taken to a phony login page or a fake retail website that will ask for your user ID, password, and other sensitive information. Some Malvertising can download malicious files onto your computer.

Most websites use ad networks that manage advertisers, traffic, and payments. Hackers fool the ad networks into thinking that they are a legitimate advertiser or warning.

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Example of malvertising that uses fear to deceive the user. You may see an ad similar to this on various websites.

• Once part of the ad network, the hackers use their infected ads to target anyone willing to click.

• Remember that just because you are on a reputable, well-known website does not mean that the ads on the website are safe to click.

Follow these tips to stay safe from harmful ads:

• Think before you click! If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

• Stay up-to-date with security patches on your device and browser.

• Install a reputable ad blocker for your browser. Ad blockers help protect you from malvertising by preventing ads from being displayed.

• Well-designed anti-virus software also has malicious ad and website blockers built into them.