Keeping your personal information secure is very important, especially in this day in age when people in authority are telling us that we should even have our webcams covered with paper when they aren’t in use. But is this all just a big scare? Cyber crime is becoming more and more common as technology advances all the time but so do the skills of cyber criminals being able to hack into networks to gain sensitive information. With this in mind, we have to question if we ourselves are at risk or whether it is worth paying up to £60 a year to protect ourselves and our information.
It’s understandable why you wouldn’t want to pay out a lot of money to protect your devices and you might be better off not doing depending on what you use your devices for. There are a lot of cheaper options that you could download but here comes the risk of them being fraudulent software and doing more damage than is best (some may wipe documents that aren’t actually harmless) and some claim to be free, until two weeks later when it bills your account for the years subscription service. It’s better to do your research beforehand to make sure you get the most out of your money if you’re willing to spend it.
Alternatively, if you look at what information is on your device or what you use your device for, you may not be as vulnerable as you first think. Here are a few ways you can check to see if you’re more at risk of having your information stolen and you may be able to make your mind up and see what is best for you.
Wifi – So the wifi your devices are always connected to, are you using a private network? So your personal home wifi that is secured with a password, or are you mostly using open networks? These are usually in public areas and are generally free as they don’t need passwords to be accessed, even the ones that require you to sign up using an email address are still open and make you vulnerable. If you’re using your own network then there’s less of a need to take action but it might be worth you looking into apps or services you can purchase so you’re safer surfing the web if you are using these public networks more often.
What are you using your device for? Many people (less and less as the years go on, admittedly) still use their legs and go to the shop to buy the things they want and need, however if you’re one for doing a spot of online shopping then typing out your card details, name and address on different sites may leave you open for cyber criminals. If you are only using your device to browse the web, watch Netflix or play games, then you may be less likely to actually need to protect yourself. But if you’re inputting your sensitive information over and over again, then you may need to buy a service to help you protect your identity.
Hey, I’m Rory and I am the ultimate accidental geek.
Born in London I was never interested in technologies until I started a part-time job at Apple and now I can’t get enough. Join me as a help you navigate the world of tech with some of my fellow geeks.