Cybersecurity: How to Remove A Virus from Your Phone & 10 Ways to Protect Yourself from Hackers

1. Cracking Passwords

Hackers can obtain your credentials through a number of means, but commonly they do so through a practice called key-logging. There are also password cracking programs that can run letter and character combinations, guessing passwords in a matter of minutes, even seconds. For instance, a five-character password could have about 100 different combinations, and a savvy password cracker could run through them all in seconds.

Pro tip: Use a password management tool, which securely houses your company credentials. Consider looking into encryption and multi-factor authentication methods to shield your data behind numerous layers of protection. 

2. Phishing Attacks

A phishing scam targets businesses and individuals through an email.

Phishing is an attempt to steal confidential information from you, such as your username and passwords for banking but also credit card data. Scammers pretend to be a person or an organisation you can trust through online communication.

Pro tip: To prevent a phishing scam, always verify the identity of a site that asks you to insert sensitive information. Check out whether the domain name is spelled without any modifications and that a security certificate (SSL) is installed.

3. Bait and Switch

Bait and switch is a morally suspect sales tactic that lures customers in with specific claims about the quality or low prices on items that turn out to be unavailable in order to up-sell them on a similar, pricier item. It is considered a form of retail sales fraud, though it takes place in other contexts.

Pro tip: Read the terms and conditions. Compare with other sellers. Research the seller beforehand and don't agree to a purchase if you feel uncomfortable.

4. Keystroke Logging

Keystroke logging is the action of recording the keys struck on a keyboard, typically covertly, so that a person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored. Data can then be retrieved by the person operating the logging program. 

Pro tip: Use a firewall and install a password manager. Update your system and consider additional security tools.

5. Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack 

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash.

Pro tip: Develop a denial of service response plan. Secure your network infrastructure. Maintain a strong network architecture and understand the warning signs. 

6. ClickJacking Attacks

Clickjacking is a malicious technique of tricking a user into clicking on something different from what the user perceives, thus potentially revealing confidential information or allowing others to take control of their computer while clicking on seemingly innocuous objects, including web pages.

Pro tip: To ensure that your site doesn’t get used in a clickjacking attack, you need to make sure it cannot be wrapped in an iframe by a malicious site. This can be done by giving the browser instructions directly via HTTP headers, or in older browser by using client-side JavaScript (frame-killing).

7. Fake Wireless Access Point (WAP)

Fake WAP is a type of hacking attack in which the hacker sets up a wireless router with a convincingly legitimate name in a public spot where people might connect to it.

Pro tip: change your router admin credentials, set up strong encryption, keep your router updated. Hide your wifi network and avoid public networks. 

8. Cookie Theft

Cookie theft occurs when a third party copies unencrypted session data and uses it to impersonate the real user. Cookie theft most often occurs when a user accesses trusted sites over an unprotected or public Wi-Fi network.

Pro tip: Add an SSL Certificate and update regularly your website. Put armour in your website and use a security plugin.

9. Trojans

Trojan horse is any malware which misleads users of its true intent. 

Pro tip:  Never download or install software from a source you don’t trust completely. Never open an attachment or run a program sent to you in an email from someone you don’t know. Keep all software on your computer up to date with the latest patches. 

10. Formajacking

Formjacking involves the use of malicious JavaScript code to steal personal and financial information from website forms.

Pro tip: Consider using a masked credit card. Look into payment methods that use tokenisation like Apple Play and Google Play. Keep monitoring your accounts on an ongoing basis.