Online threats are increasing day by day and there are so many account hacking tutorials floating around the web that even a noob can learn how to hack an account. But, just like every security have it’s loophole, every hacking method have it’s own weakness. This article will inform you about the ways to protect you against basic Account hacking methods like phishing. keylogging, cookie stealing.
Account Hacking Methods and Countermeasures
Phishing
According to cyber security experts at RSA phishing attacks have a huge increase of 37% last year and an average attack results in $4,500 stolen funds. Phishing attacks is not only used in account hacking but also hacking banking and credit card information. Though Phishing attacks are pretty known but still every year there are thousands of people who get’s hacked due to this simple method.
An example of Facebook phishing Page
Facebook original page
How to protect yourself from phishing attempts
1. Always check URL – As you can see in the above images there aren’t any difference in the looks of the webpages but you can still differentiate original page from the phishing page by just looking at URL in the address bar. That’s the catch, a phishing page can never have a address URL like https://www.Facebook.com because it’s already registered to Facebook and same goes with other accounts like Gmail and Hotmail.
2. Be Skeptical – It is better to be safe then sorry. Unless you are 100% sure about the web page don’t give your personal sensitive information via email. Hacker can use various methods, like ask you to like his page through email or sends you a fake email regarding a problem with your account and gives you a link to enter your detail.
3. Page source - If you have a bit of HTML knowledge you can click on view page source of the web page and find the exact details of the webpage.
Keylogging
Keylogging is one the most well known and easy methods to hack sensitive information about a person. They are feared because they are hard to detect and can cause severe damage giving away your personal information and credit card number. I personally fear Keylogger because they are so easy to setup that even a non tech savvy can install it without any problem let it be your wife, girlfriend, friend, neighbor just name it. Once I read an article about keylogging and in the comment section a lady asked the admin “is it possible I really like to hack my husband account”. Now, her husband was definitely in serious problem but don’t let it happen to yourself. Following are the ways to better protect your privacy from keyloggers.
How to protect yourself from Keylogging attempts
1. Firewall – Firewall is a great defense against keylogger. Most of the time a keylogger have to transmit information to third party setup by hacker which means it have to use your internet connection. Firewall monitors your activity and warn you if a program is trying to send a information from your computer.
2. Antispyware and Antivirus – Antivirus is always the first defense of your computer against Malwares, always keep it updated. There are also many tools available online which you use to detect hidden keyloggers.
3. Automated Filler – If you are the only one who can access your system then this is one of the best method you can use. Almost every browser allows you to save your password which will be automatically typed in when you fill your email and a keylogger will never get a keystroke.
4. Be skeptical – Same as phishing, hackers can bind a keylogger .exe file with an image or an other file format and the moment you double click on the file you yourself automatically runs the keylogger in your system.
Cookie stealing
Computer cookies are stored in browsers to provide better user experience but these Cookies also help websites to track your geographical location, Pages you visit, email addresses, username and other things that is connected to your identity. Hackers try to steal your computer cookies in order to get access to your account or get some personal sensitive information about you. Though you can’t every time stop a hacker from stealing your cookies on public wifi but still there are various methods that you can apply to make the cookies unusable for hackers.
How to protect yourself from Cookie stealing attempts
1. Use Https – Using a https connection encrypts your cookie and even if a hacker somehow get a hold on your Computer Cookies all he will find is some random junk. You can also use a popular add-on called Https Everywhere. This add-on force a wesite to use https connection if it is supported by that website.
2. Private wifi Spot – Popular cookie grabber software like Firesheep that is used to hack accounts like Facebook or Gmail can only be used on public wifi spot So, having a private wifi Spot ultimately saves you from various possible attacks.
3. Use VPN – VPN tunnels your traffic through there servers and encrypt your data, this helps you to bypass any local security issues and protect your data more efficiently. VPN is a paid service but if you are more concerned about security and can spend some bucks you should go for it.
Final word
Having a 100% security is almost next to impossible but as i said before just like every security have it’s loophole, every hacking method have it’s own weakness all you have to do is to be proactive about the security measures to remain safe and secure from online threats.
If you Know about any other security precautions, Let us know in our comment section
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