Simple Cybersecurity Rules for Individuals
1. Don't Panic - If you get an email alerting you that your credit card's about to be charged $480 to renew your non-existent Purchase or that your computer is infected with ransomware, you might be tempted to call the toll-free number in that email. Simply try to remember and ask around in the household or relatives & friends about such a thing but DO NOT CALL that number.
2. Don't Open Unknown Attachments - Many potential security threats arrive in the form of email attachments. Sometimes they're executable files, but these days they're just as likely to be Word documents, PDFs, or HTML files. They might be capable of running exploit code, or they might be simply an attempt to convince you to enter credentials for an email or bank account.
3. Don't Click Unsolicited Links in Email or Text - Social engineering works by exploiting people's trust. A scammer who puts even minimal effort into a phishing attempt can do a creditable job of mimicking a legitimate email or a text message and crafting links that look close enough to the real thing to fool you.
4. No Need to Pay for Security Software - Rather than paying for those name brand security softwares which come as a trial with the new computer, Pay to a professional to have your computer set up right from beginning and don't try to mess with it based on Google Search. That will save you lot of problems in the future.
5. Use a Password Manager - Rather than using same password for different web sites, start using password manager to manage the complexities & uniqueness for different websites you use. We have seen people making notes or excel spread sheet on the computer which is very bad idea. These days browsers have inbuilt password managers which are easy & safe to use.
