A cyber war is deadlier than a nuclear war. Part 1

Why do we tend to live in a misconception that our data is protected? Why do we tend to believe that sharing your phone numbers and e-Mails won’t affect much? Why is there a problem in using the Whatsapp messenger and Yahoo email IDs? It’s time to learn and avoid these mistakes  made each day.

1. What happens if your mobile number is public? Should one save forwarded media on messaging apps?

One can easily makes calls and send messages from your mobile numbers without you getting to know about it. It is advised not to save forwarded messages and videos as they could have encrypted code which one won’t be able to see and won’t even get to know about it, as it would silently send your cached email IDs and passwords to the one who encrypted the code in it. Therefore, do not save media received from your contacts.

2. Does anyone has a Yahoo Email ID? Kindly forward it to me.

Yahoo Email IDs have low security compared to Gmail, Outlook etc. Yahoo Email IDs can be hacked in less than 30mins using various softwares. Otherwise for all Email IDs, one can bomb your ID with so many mails that it takes forever to open, forcing you to close that Email ID. Therefore, think twice before sharing your Email ID.

3. Your WiFi password please?

WEP security(5 character passwords) for a WiFi can be found out in a matter of 10-15mins whereas WPA/PSK, WPA2/PSK level of WiFi passwords takes about 7-8 hours to be cracked. While cracking a WiFi’s password, the WiFi stops working; therefore it is advised that one should switch off their WiFi when it is not in use as the hacker would not be able to access the WiFi connection.

4. My pen drive is not working. Can i check it on your PC/laptop/mobile?

Some have created a “autorun.exe” file which copies and saves all your Email ID and password combinations which is saved by your browser to the pendrive in less than a minute. Therefore, while accessing sites like Facebook, Gmail etc. , do not click on the option ‘Remember password’.
Our data is not private and is present forever online. We have to be smart enough to choose which data needs to be sent and received. BE SAFE. BE PROTECTED.

Make yourself aware by learning the basics of cyber security.

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