5 Quick Ways to Stay Safe Online @HotspotShield #HotspotShield

Disclosure:  I am a Hotspot Shield Ambassador that is compensated and will be sharing my honest opinion.

I have been online now for 20 years, since the days of the “You’ve Got Mail” and “chat rooms” were about all there was online.  Ever since I have evolved on the Internet by shopping online, banking online, researching, games, communicating with friends and family – really the possibilities of uses for the Internet are endless!  I have definitely learned a thing or five about staying safe online and I think they are important for everyone to think about, even though they are pretty much common sense its easy to forget.

1.  Don’t put any personal information that is not easily known to others, such as your credit card or social security number, on a website if its not secure.  Look for the “https://” in your browser bar, the “s” makes it secure.  Now of course your information could still be stolen but at least you have safer odds.

2.  If a website is giving you a bad vibe or your not sure, then back away from it.  I like to Google companies and see what others are saying or check the Better Business Bureau website for ratings and complaints.  I have actually found out companies were a scam by just doing some quick research.

3. Same goes for emails, if the email doesn’t look right – delete it or at least contact the person that sent it to confirm.  I get emails daily using my family members names which some hacker must have pulled from my profile or something and it is so easy to accidentally click on them because you assume its from your mom or aunt or so forth.  Some emails I know right off the bat to delete, while others I do call or email the person to see if they indeed did email me.  Also, with emails never ever ever click a link that tells you to verify your personal information and wants you to re-input that.  If your bank or credit card company needs verification from you they will do it in a lot safer way than just emailing and asking!

4.  Use good passwords and change them often.  I just realized the other day I hadn’t changed my email password for probably 10 years!  Also, I recommend not using the same password for your email as you do for other sites, such as cooking sites, social media, giveaway sites or so forth.  It seems like every single website wants you to create a username and password for it.  Guard your email like your life as it can contain so much personal information or information that shouldn’t be public.  I know its tempting to use the same email across all your sites you use online but remember it is that easy for a hacker then to get your information.

5.  Be careful when surfing the internet when your using non-secure wifi.  If you are using the Starbucks or wherever’s “free wifi” then anyone can hop onto your device and take what you want and you’d have no idea!  Use a VPN (virtual private network) such as HotSpot Shield on both your laptops and smartphones to keep your browsing to yourself and secure.