In these past few years protecting yourself online has become so much more important because of the increased risk of being hacked. Hacking is the act of exploiting a weakness in someone’s network to gain unauthorized access. 

One way hackers infiltrate someone’s device is through emails that have a link or downloadable content attached. This is called phishing. Normally, these emails have malware attached that is used to steal data and damage or destroy computer systems. 

One other way is called a trojan horse. The way that a trojan horse works is that it is downloaded to a computer disguised as a legit program. The reason why the trojan horse is a dangerous virus is the fact that the hacker who has control of it can gain remote access to the device it is installed on. This could result in identity theft, stealing personal data, stealing money, and much more. 

Another dangerous way hackers get into systems is keylogging. Keylogging is the action of recording someone’s key inputs and using that to get into accounts and credit card info.

Some ways to protect yourself from hackers online is to install antivirus software, update computer security software, use a safe browser, utilize an ad blocker, and create unique passwords for everything. 

The reason why you should install antivirus software is because it scans all of your memory/files and apps to see if it has any suspicious or malicious programs on it. Anti-viruses can quarantine the programs so you can delete them faster and more efficiently. Anti-viruses can also warn you about malicious links or websites before you click them so you have more awareness of potential hacking

Updating a computer’s security programs constantly is also a must do. Updating a computer’s built-in antivirus software is important because it will protect your computer against the latest threats hackers create due to their creativity in infiltrating devices.

Some of the best free antivirus programs include Malwarebytes, Avast Antivirus, Total AV, and Bitdefender Antivirus.

Ad blockers block the ads on websites that could carry harmful programs onto your device if clicked on by accident such as popups. Ad blockers also help web pages load faster and keep you from leaking your personal information online.

Some of the best free ad blockers include UBlock Origin, Brave Browser (comes with a built in ad blocker), and Total ADblock.

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is creating unique passwords for everything. Creating unique passwords is important because if you use the same password for everything a hacker can get into everything. The recommended password length is 8-14 characters long including a capital letter, symbol, and number. 

Overall, there are many small ways to protect yourself online to lessen the risk of being hacked.