Black Friday is over and now it’s on to Cyber Monday

cyber-monday

 

 

Black Friday deals can be found in the stores. And the online deals, can be found on Cyber Monday. Co-Founder Landon Lewis with Pondurance, an Indianapolis-based IT Security and Compliance Company has a few tips on how to keep you and your identity safe from hackers while you’re surfing the web as you find the best online deals.

Lewis’s first tip: Avoid online and emails ads. “Go directly to the website or the retailer that you trust, is one,” he said. “Another is being very leery of emails being sent. Attackers leverage in what’s known as phishing in an attempt to get you to click on a site that they control.”

Lewis says when that happens, they hope that the consumer will put in their sensitive information into their controlled website and they use that information to typically steal identities or commit fraud.

He adds that you should beware: An increase in hacking typically happens around Cyber Monday or around the holidays. It’s because the opportunity is greater for that attacker to take advantage of people who don’t protect themselves.

So what are some of the best ways to protect yourself so this doesn’t happen to you? Lewis says one of the best ways to protect yourself is when it comes to your passwords and the use of your login passwords, leveraging strong and complex passwords is the best practice, as well as not reusing the same password or making sure they vary between sites.

“One type of tool that’s out there, it’s known as Password Managers, and it can allow you to generate passwords that you protect with a strong master password,” said Lewis. “Effectively rendering your password to a point where you don’t know it.” He says that’s a safer way to protect yourself online.

Where can you find the best deals? First thing Lewis suggests is, review your emails. One place he recommends is worth checking out: Ben’s Bargains.

So, if you don’t need to provide personal information to an outside entity, don’t do it. Keep it safe because it’s another form of verifying your identity. Lewis says he wants to make sure people keep that information out of the hands of cyber attackers.

(story from Network Indiana)