Internet Security — What’s on your mind? The world is watching
The recent security flaws detected in the Facebook API has got the world startled to say the least. This has led to the #DeleteFacebook campaign worldwide. The Cambridge Analytica issues has left data of several millions vulnerable for a couple of years now.
But really, Whats on your mind? The famous phrase we see the multiple times we log on to Facebook daily and we are cajoled to answer this question by updating our status with pictures, videos or simply text of our current mood or happenings around us. We have so much entrusted our data to the social media platforms, chiefly because it sparks a conversation with our friends whom we may only have know on social media. Now the issues are four fold;
• How do we secure our data online?
• Should I #DeleteFacebook
• How vulnerable is my social media account
• Can I be harmed via social media.
All of the aforementioned issues concern each and every one of us one way or the other and it’s not just Facebook, all the other social media platforms may also be vulnerable but at the moment, the former is the culprit.
We register on these platforms without reading the very lengthy “Terms and Conditions” as they would only bore us. Even when they have updated their policies and send us a notification to that effect, we are never going to review them. What lies within is more than we can imagine. Only if we acknowledge the value of our contact details, thoughts and opinions are to these platforms; we users can also demand for benefits in return. But there really isn’t any free lunch.
Another case lies with free public internet WiFi hotspots where we easily divulge our contact information for the benefit of browsing online for free? Not really, these facilities are actually
not free. In return, what they get is your data which in return is sold to marketing and advertising companies; now you know where all those junk mails originated from. Based on your browsing history, they are able to target adverts to your email or mobile device via SMS and you wonder how your phone number was gotten? No, it’s not necessarily your network service provider.
Fraudsters can pose as online marketing/advertising companies, who mine your data (emails, phone numbers and browsing history) for fraudulent activities. Little wonder you get emails suggesting that you need to update your account details with bank A when you do not have an account with them. Many have fallen prey and are still falling for such fraudsters who go as far as sending SMS to their preys to call certain numbers. Good a thing spam SMS from online bulk SMS platforms now need approval from the NCC — Nigerian Communication Commission to send bulk SMS using customized sender ID since the introduction of the Do Not Disturb (DND) feature by the commission. We can only hope this policy in strictly enforced in the coming months and years.
So one would ask, how do I stay safe on the internet while carrying out sensitive transactions or tasks on a public free WiFi network without having my data compromised? There are a few solutions; a VPN — Virtual Private Network is one of such if you must carry out sensitive operation over free WiFi.
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. — Wikipedia
For as ubiquitous as connectivity has become and how reliant we’ve grown on it, the Internet is still a digital jungle where hackers easily steal sensitive information from the ill-equipped and where the iron-fisted tactics of totalitarian regimes bent on controlling what their subjects can access are common. So instead of mucking around in public networks, just avoid them. Use a VPN instead. — https://gizmodo.com/5990192/vpns-what-they-do-how-they-work-and-why-youre-dumb-for-not-using-one
There a quite a lot of VPNs out there for use on our computer systems and mobile devices. We would be reviewing them in Part II if this series. In the meantime, avoid public internet WiFi networks when performing sensitive transactions and tasks.
