Cybercrime To Cost The World $10.5 Trillion Annually By 2025. Here’s are a few things to to avoid falling prey to hackers:

Understand the Dangers of the Internet: This blog covers safety in regards to Identity theft, online scams, malware and phishing but it is also important to note that there are constant new cyber threats evolving that include cyberbullying, online predators, inappropriate content, bait and switch, etc.
Set Strong Passwords and Change them Frequently. YES the capital letters, numbers, and special characters ARE important. The small prompt beneath a password creation box alerting you to when your password is strong enough is a good guide. Also, when changing your password, change MORE than just a single character. It is best to create a completely new and unique password. It is easy for hackers to run previous passwords with one or two character changes until they get the correct password. To understand more Mathematics on Password Hacking click here.
Secure Your Internet Connection. Always have a unique password on your home wifi network. Be cautious with what information you share or work you conduct on a public wifi network like at the coffee shop, the library etc. Norton says, “One of the dangers of using a public Wi-Fi network is that data over this type of open connection is often unencrypted and unsecured, leaving you vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. What is an MITM? It’s when a cybercriminal exploits a security flaw in the network to intercept data. Essentially, this gives a hacker access to sniff out any information that passes between you and the websites you visit — details of browsing activities, account logins, and purchase transactions. Your sensitive information, such as passwords and financial data, are then vulnerable to identity theft.”
Keep Personal Information Personal. PLEASE STOP DOING THE PERSONAL INFORMATION SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGES. Trading fun facts about life via social media seems like a get to know you challenge, but when you tell the world your address in first grade, your favorite pet's name, and mothers maiden name, it leaves all your passwords and accounts vulnerable to a Brute Force Cyber Security attack.
Shop Safely Online. Advertisers are pumping products into our social media pages. On Facebook, about every 4-5 posts there is an ad that is tailored to your interests. Go check, scroll through your Facebook feed right now and count how many friends you see before an ad. With all this beautiful advertising, it’s hard to know when a company is legitimate, and even if it is, is it secure? The easy way to tell if your shopping experience is protected is to look next to the HTML link. If it has a lock next to it, your shopping is secure.

6. Be Careful What You Download and From Where. Anytime you download something from the internet, check to make sure the source of that download is credible. If the site is new, unknown, or not well protected, malware can be attached and use your download as a free ride into your computer. From there malware can be used to monitor your activity either through scrubbing your screen (watching everything you type) or storing your keystrokes (everything you type) and more. To read more on malware click here.

7. Close Any Unused Accounts. If you have old emails or myspace, close the accounts. Old personal data seems the safest for people to use in passwords and for security questions. When it is still active but isn’t being monitored, anyone can hack and use those accounts to dig up personal information (even as simple as what your favorite skate shop was in middle school).

8. Keep Your Antivirus Software up-to-date. Internet security software can’t protect you from everything but it can eliminate the sneakier and less obvious attacks that creep in through the internet. Don’t have an antivirus software? Here are a few software’s to check out: