With increase the number of internet users, so is the security risk associate with breach of personal data. The increasing use in social media applications and payment platforms means that more people are making more personal information available online.
Here are five tips that can secure your financial transactions online.
- Use Strong Passwords
The most common way to protect your online identity is to focus on creating strong passwords. Never use a word or number that someone can associate with you such as a first, middle, or last name, a child or spouse’s name, phone number, address, or other identifying letters or numbers. When creating a password, choose something that will not be easily decoded or cracked. Have a mix up of numbers and letters in your password, using symbols and a combination of upper and lowercases when possible. It is advisable to change your passwords a few times each year. Lastly, never share your password with another person.
- Protect Your Card Information
Another measure to secure your online financial transaction is by being selective when giving your card details online, only offer it when using a verified secure platform, the trusted security lock symbols and the extra “s” at the end of http in the URL or web address bar.
If you allow your browser to store your credit card number, you could be vulnerable. To prevent this, consider turning off the Autofill function in each browser that you use.
- Install Security Suites
Security suites are security programs that keep scammers from hacking your device and stealing your payment information and data. This includes blocking harmful software such as spyware, viruses, and phishing scams that can be installed secretly when you are online. Some of the popular security suites you can use are; Norton Antivirus, McAfee Virus Protection, Ad-Aware Pro Security and AVG Internet Security.
- Avoid Unsecured Networks
Avoid unsecured internets, there is always the tendency to join available Wi-Fi networks that pop up on our devices in public places, at work and even at home, but the dangers of using such networks outweigh the benefits. A hacker could use this to his advantage and steal your personal information while you are trying to make online payments or just surfing the web.
You should also enable the encryption feature on your personal wireless router, which scrambles any data you send online to further protect your sensitive data.