How To Protect Your Devices From Being Spied By Using VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your online traffic by creating a secure tunnel or connection between you and the server over the Internet. This way, your identity becomes anonymous because a VPN hides your original IP address and location. It’s a digital era where a majority of your devices are connected to the Internet. You must be wondering if VPN is the ultimate solution to protect your smart devices.s

How To Protect Your Devices From Being Spied By Using VPN

How Does VPN Offer You Protection?

Encryption

The VPN works on the principle of creating a secure tunnel between two devices over the Internet to encrypt your identity. For instance, some VPN services providers such as Surfshark employ AES 256-bit encryption. This type of advanced encryption makes it impossible for hackers to steal your online information.

IP Masking

An IP address is your online address over the Internet that hackers use to track down your real-life location. When you use a VPN service, all your online traffic is rerouted via the VPN server and marked by the IP address of that particular server. This way, the VPN hides your actual IP address.

Does VPN Protect Your Devices on Public Wi-Fi?

It’s necessary to use a VPN while using a public network to protect your identity.

A wired connection is undoubtedly more secure than a Wi-Fi connection. However, Wi-Fi offers you mobility and a hassle-free Internet connection that doesn’t include wires.

A Wi-Fi works on radio waves, so anyone can catch the signal by tuning to these radio waves.

Here comes the VPN to your rescue because it encrypts all your online data so the online spies or hackers can’t steal your online data or traffic information.

VPNRanks provides you with the complete details for a VPN and how they protect your online privacy, you can check their detailed guide for further assistance.

VPN Tunnel

Man-in-the-Middle Attack

In this attack, the hacker comes in the middle between you and the webserver you want to access over the Internet. It happens only when the hackers know about your network and exploits the weak encryption standards to intercept your communication with a particular server.

This type of attack happens when you use free public Wi-Fi networks that use a weak encryption standard such as WPA2 security. Therefore, you need to use a VPN connection to secure your online activities.

In such a case, the inline spies don’t know about the network that you are using; thus, they can’t intercept your online traffic.

Doxing

Hackers dox people by collecting their personal information to share it publicly or sell on the dark web. Doxing is done when the hackers gain access to your actual IP address.

A VPN service encrypts your online traffic, thus preventing hackers from tracking your online activities.

Man-in-the-Middle Attack

Does VPN Protect Your Devices on Home Wi-Fi?

It’s no longer about protecting your identity while using a public or free Wi-Fi; however, you need to protect your devices at home from online spies and hackers. It’s because all your smart devices, from TVs to Alexa and smart fridges, are now connected to the Internet, courtesy of the Internet of Things (IoT).

It’s your responsibility to protect all your information from hackers. Once the online spies know your IP address, they’ll be able to hack all your smart devices and steal your personal information.

A VPN assigns you a temporary IP address and makes your identity anonymous over the internet. As mentioned earlier, an IP address is your digital signature or online identity. Once the VPN hides your IP address, it becomes impossible for the spies to steal your information.

Remote Hacking

All the websites that you access track your IP address. However, if any of the websites you access is compromised by a cyberattack, online hackers can access your IP address. Once the online spies know your IP address, they can gain information about your smartphone, TV, laptop, CCTV, and all other devices connected to your home Wi-Fi network.

A VPN hides your real IP address, thus preventing online hackers from hacking your information even if you visit an unsecured website.

DDOS/DoS Attack

In a distributed denial-of-service attack, the hackers swamp your network with unwanted traffic and requests. It eventually crashes the online service and website you want to access. For instance, you keep on getting access denied errors while accessing your network while you have an important deadline to meet.

A VPN prevents DDoS attacks by masking your IP address. Since the online spies don’t know about your real IP address, they are unaware of the target to launch a DDoS attack.

Conclusion

The key takeaway of the above article is to highlight the importance of using a VPN service to protect your devices. That’s why you need to subscribe to a reliable VPN service with a no-log policy and advanced encryption methods.

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Online Threat Alerts Security Tips

Pay the safest way

Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.

Guard your personal information

In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.

Be careful of the information you share

Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with

Know who you’re dealing with

Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.

Check your accounts

Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.

Don’t believe promises of easy money

If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.

Do not open email from people you don’t know

If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.

Think before you click

If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.

Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond

If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.

Be careful with links and new website addresses

Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.

Secure your personal information

Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.

Stay informed on the latest cyber threats

Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.

Use Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are critical to online security.

Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs

Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.

Update the operating systems on your electronic devices

Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.

What if You Got Scammed?

Stop Contact With The Scammer

Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.

Secure Your Finances

  • Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
  • Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:

Check Your Computer

If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.

Change Your Account Passwords

Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.

Report The Scam

Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.

Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:

  • Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
  • Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
  • Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.

How To Recognize a Phishing Scam

Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.

Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might

  • say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
  • claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
  • say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
  • include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
  • want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
  • say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
  • offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real

About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.

By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.

With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.

Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.

Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).

How To Protect Your Devices From Being Spied By Using VPN