5 Online Traps to Avoid this Halloween
Want to hear a scary story? It’s Halloween night and you’re getting ready for a party. Your last-minute Joker costume that surely nobody else thought of is ready. You still have a few hours to kill so you decide to watch a horror movie, but you can’t find it on Netflix. So you naturally go for the next best thing: a pirate website. Before you know it, your screen is filled with sketchy ads and you can’t even find the play button. By then, your computer might already be infected and there’s no coming back.
This is a pretty common scenario for many users, yet they still end up falling on the same traps. So here’s a list of five online temptations to avoid during this spooky season.
1. Pirated Content
Our previous example starts the list with a very obvious warning to users who are looking for free content. Piracy might seem like the cheaper choice, but in the end, you could be paying a higher price. Most of these unofficial websites host pirated content to get their revenue from advertisements, but they don’t bother to check if they’re safe or include tracking software.
You could also run into trouble if you download this kind of content from an unknown source. Hackers present that movie or game that you’re looking for as candy to lure their victims. Once the file is downloaded they can get access to your computer’s data and lock it until you pay them a bounty. A classic case of ransomware.
So stay out of pirate websites, no matter how attractive they look. I prefer to pay for someone’s work and keep my computer intact.
2. Free Trendy Apps
A few months ago we had an app that allowed you to age yourself, then came an app that scanned your photos to find your celebrity lookalike. And I’m sure we’ll be getting a new app in the same vein soon, becoming a viral sensation overnight. It might be tempting to join the social media fun, these apps are free and very popular after all, but most users don’t read the terms and conditions exposing their phones to privacy risks.
In order to play around with your photos, these apps need access to your camera and phone gallery, they may even ask for more permissions like your location and contact list. Be careful with what you’re giving away because they can take advantage of the users’ ignorance to use their personal data for malicious purposes. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last.
3. Public Wi-Fi Connections
If you take your work to a coffee shop, travel abroad or just run out of internet, you might decide to join a free public Wi-Fi connection as a quick solution. However, unless you are equipped with the proper security measures, your devices may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
The biggest threat of public Wi-Fi is how easy hackers can redirect information to their points of connection. Meaning that there’s a chance that someone could be spying on you. Cybercriminals can also use a public Wi-Fi connection to spread malware to unsuspecting users.
According to Fabio Assolini, senior analyst of security on Kapersky, hackers can potentially access important emails, credit card information and even the credentials for your personal accounts and company networks. Airports and malls have some of the most widely used free Wi-Fi connections out there, which also make them the most dangerous. Keep an eye on the source of the Wi-Fi and as always take your precautions. Free doesn’t mean safe.
4. Free Trials that Require your Credit Card Info
Social media is filled with ads that are tailored to your personal interests, specifically on Facebook and Instagram. Once in a while comes an ad that actually calls your attention so it may be tempting to click on it. You are still not convinced to buy the product, but you can try it out for a month without paying a penny. A free trial sounds like a good deal because there’s nothing to lose, right? Except that many times these trials ask you to fill your credit card information in order to start. That’s where they hook you in.
Other than it being a pretty sketchy technique to acquire new users, this is also a potentially dangerous action if you’re not familiar with the company’s privacy terms. As a rule of thumb, if you haven’t tried their product yet you shouldn’t give them your credit card info. That’s not a good way to earn your trust.
5. Using the Same Password for Everything
This should be common sense, but you’d be surprised to find out how many users keep using the same password for every email, social media and game account they have. If a hacker deciphers just one of them, they get access to all of your digital life.
Recently, a friend of mine almost got their whole computer hacked because of this. She used the same password for pretty much everything until she received an email from a cybercriminal that proved that he had her password and was ready to publish all her private data unless she paid $1200 on Bitcoin. Don’t worry, she formatted her computer and changed all of her passwords on time, but not everyone gets to be that lucky.
Also, please make sure that your password is more complex than your pet’s name or “password123”. It doesn’t take a hacker to figure those out.
More Treats, Less Tricks
As you can see, there are a lot of tricksters on the internet who are waiting for you to take the bait and turn your digital life into a nightmare. If you want to step up your security to the next level you can always count on Online.io to get the job done.
Our extension blocks all kinds of advertisements so you won’t be tempted to fall on their traps. It also comes with protection against malware and tracking software. A pretty great combo if you ask me, and a good helping hand to avoid these digital scares.
Stay safe and Happy Halloween!
