Security Advisor provides recommendations for keeping users' information secure in the run-up to this special holiday season.
In addition to the usual spam, there is an increase in the number of emails we receive, possibly from non-regular accounts: end-of-year greetings from our customers and suppliers, promotions from businesses, notices of promotions and special conditions from banks and institutions of which we are customers or affiliates.
Faced with such an avalanche of emails and messages through social networks, Security Advisor, a company specialising in Information Security, offers a series of recommendations that we should bear in mind when we are in cyberspace:
1 - Do not click directly on links that lead to other sites and that come from suspicious sources, or from banks. As a common practice, banks do not include links in their notification emails. Our recommendation is always to type the url of the bank's page you wish to access into your browser.
2 - Ignore emails informing that the bank account has been blocked and that the user must log in to a (fake) website to enter username/ID and change the password.
3 - Be aware that banks and businesses do not request information about users and passwords through e-mails, phone calls or social networks.
4 - Avoid sending credit card information (number, validity date, security code) via email or social networks (which can be intercepted). If you have to do so because the shop where you want to buy does not have an electronic means of payment, prefer to do it in person, or, as a last resort, make a phone call. We should bear in mind that with e-mails, we know when they go out, but we never have control over where they end up, as we have no control over how they are handled by the original recipient.
5 - We always recommend ending sessions on bank, e-commerce or payment websites by clicking on the "log out" button or link, avoiding just closing the browser page.
If the access was made from a public or shared computer, it is good practice to clear the browser's browsing history and cache.
We must bear in mind that it will always be easier for the cybercriminal to breach the security of the user, the customer, than the security of the bank or business, which is why their efforts are focused on obtaining credentials (users, passwords, codes) through e-mails, malicious codes and social engineering techniques.
If we are going to do banking or commercial transactions, Security Advisor warns that it is good to keep in mind:
6 - Connect from a known network, avoiding making transactions from public places such as cafes, airports, or from wifi networks that appear open on the PC or phone, without being clear about their ownership or security.
7 - Make sure your device is always up to date with its security tools: antivirus, antispam, etc.
8 - Take into account whether I am connecting to a secure page, with encrypted content transmission, checking that the url begins with https (secure access protocol).
9 - Prefer second-factor authentication mechanisms, where co-ordinate cards, code sent by SMS or other means or other tokens are used.
10 - It is always good to have correct password management for banking and online shopping sites:
Frequent change of passwords
Use different types of characters: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, special characters.
Avoid using trivial or obvious passwords, such as dates of birth, children's names, etc.
Change the password in its entirety, not just by changing a part of the password, or by changing a sequential number.
It is always good to manage passwords correctly on banking or online shopping sites: Change passwords frequently Use different types of characters: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, special characters. Avoid using trivial or obvious passwords, such as dates of birth, children's names, etc. Change the password in its entirety, not just by changing a part of the password, or by changing a sequential number.
Source: http://www.sadvisor.com/
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