Online Security


   In the current society, more and more people begin to rely on online services. Consequently, the safety issue about online services has become many users' main concern. Many users have experienced loss of their personal information, and those lost data have often been utilized for inadequate intentions without the users' acknowledgement and permission. For example, in June 2018, 14 million Facebook posts that had meant for friends ended up being revealed for public due to a bug issue. This has significantly lessened the trust among Facebook users. Furthermore, about fifteen million Facebook accounts were later hacked due to the same issue, and many suffered the loss of their private data [2]. Awareness of online security has grown with a significant price. In fact, online users can have a higher chance of avoiding such problems from happening by being familiar with common online security issues, such as the complexity of passwords, account theft, and the prevalence of spywares.


1. Does a more complex password guarantee the security of your account?


    Online security can often be difficult for companies to ensure since most websites allow users to log in without an actual identity authorization, such as a passport, student card, and health card. Most of them only require an email address, a username and password. As a result, many companies tend to increase the difficulty level of passwords to ensure the safety of users' accounts. [3]. While a complex password can often guarantee the safety of one's account, it is also more arduous for the user to memorize. This later results in users' frustration of resetting the passwords almost every time they need to log into an account. However, resetting passwords can often lessen the security of the entire system since anyone who is familiar with the user's family and childhood experiences would be able to reset an account through security questions. To illustrate, the current security questions mostly consist of questions about names of users' parents, and other information that can be easily obtained by acquaintances.



2. Your information is stolen by the hackers?


The virtual world is now a new domain where people can have access to all kinds of information within a click of a mouse. However, this world also brought "convenience" to people with ill-intentions to obtain illegal gains. People tend to unconsciously encounter spywares by opening email attachments from unknown people, downloading files or software, connecting to an alien wifi and clicking on pop-ups [6]. Such actions may result in the loss of users' personal information, such as bank account passwords, phone number, and credit card number. There may seem to be little actions that internet users can take to avoid hackers from stealing their personal information. However, according to Webroot, the method of protecting the security of one's account is simple: prevent spyware infection in the first place [5]. This goal can be achieved if users take the following actions:


3. What can you do to eliminate spyware?

    Self-defence is an endless job for internet users. Although many people have begun to take preventative measures, the progress of technology is also being utilized by those malicious hackers. Web cookies can help customers to customize the web page and save the time of logging in after identifying users' identity [1]. It can also be a target for those who long to steal others' personal information. Spyware is one of their favourite tools to destroy systems in others' computers to acquire others' personal statistics without users' consent. Additionally, according to Lexico, an online dictionary, spyware is a "software that enables a user to obtain covert information about another's computer activities by transmitting data covertly from their hard drive." After knowing about the potential hazards brought by spyware, many may wish to remove such malicious software. To achieve this goal, follow the steps that are provided below [4]:

  1. Download a robust cybersecurity program to clean all the infections in the system.

  2. Contact your financial institutions to prevent further potential criminal deception.
        Depending on the content of your stolen information, you can choose to take one of the following actions.


  3. Freeze your credit account to deal with potential spywares in your infected account or machine.

  4. Ask your purveyors about purchasing an identity theft monitoring.




Pop Quiz
  1. What should you do when you notice that your device may be infected by spyware?
  2. Is Web Cookies a safe solution for memorizing complex passwords? Why or why not?
  3. Why do websites require long and complex passwords when signing up accounts?


    4. Feeling confused? Click ANSWER for the correct responses for these questions.



    Citations
    1. Beal, V. (n.d.). What are Cookies and What Do Cookies Do? Retrieved from https://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/all_about_cookies.asp
    2. Ho, V. (2018, December 15). Facebook's privacy problems: a roundup. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/14/facebook-privacy-problems-roundup

    3. Mullican, L., Metts, M. J., Welfle, A., Perez-Cruz, Y., Gustafson, A., Wagner, J., & McKnight, T. (2010, February 9). The Problem with Passwords. Retrieved from https://alistapart.com/article/the-problem-with-passwords/

    4. Spyware - What Is It & How To Remove It? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.malwarebytes.com/spyware/

    5. What is Online Identity Theft? How to. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.webroot.com/au/en/resources/tips-articles/malware-identity-theft

    6. What risks do IoT security issues pose to businesses? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://blog.avast.com/iot-security-business-risk

    7. image 1: https://thedataprivacygroup.com/blog/2020/1/28/microsoft-to-open-cyber-security-centre-in-belfast

    8. image 2:http://creation-office.com/2019/11/

    9. image 3: https://www.orangewebsite.com/articles/online-identity-theft/

    10. image 4: https://brightsquid.com/blogs/brightsquid-blog/cyber-criminals-arent-just-stealing-one-password-theyre-taking-all-of-them