A Few Internet Safety Tips

 

This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. Since you are reading this post, you are using the internet. While it is not explicitly a Christian subject, internet safety is a very important thing you need to understand. There are many wolves out there who basically see you as food. They would love to drain any of your bank accounts and use your credit card numbers as their very own piggybank. Some may even be stalking you personally. 

Matthew 10:16 warns us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Jesus was speaking to the Twelve, and as a first-century Jew, he knew nothing of the internet but his words are applicable to our modern concerns. We really are surrounded by dangerous predators.

Some unknown person wants you to open an unknown link. Opening the link, or sometimes, even calling the sending number, installs malware in your devices, giving that person access to all of your personal and financial accounts, probably not a very good idea.  

Here are some useful internet safety tips:

 Be highly skeptical of unsolicited emails.

R    Restrict your accounts so that only people whom you choose can view your posts and photos.

Tu  If a phone call comes from someone not on your contacts list, send it to voice mail.

 Make sure your social media profiles are set to private.

Use complex passwords and have a totally different password for each online account. If you are like me, you will need to keep a small notebook to remember them all.

4.      Add a second layer of security (like a time-sensitive code sent to your phone or authenticator app) for banking, email, and social media. This is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

5.      Never Share any access codes with anyone else. Delete them from your phone after you use them.

6.      Turn on automatic updates for your operating system, browsers, and applications to patch any newly discovered security vulnerabilities.

7.      Always use a VPN on public Wi-Fi. If you can, avoid public Wi-Fi entirely.

8.      Be highly skeptical of unexpected messages claiming you won a sweepstakes or have been hacked. 

R      Turn off any location services. They do not need to know where you are.

D    Do not post your schedule of when you will be at home alone, and especially, do not tell them when you will not be at home.

R    Remember that anything that is posted online will be online forever.