6 Ways Your Computer Isn’t as Secure as You Think

Just because you have a working antivirus and a password doesn’t mean your computer is impenetrable. You may be making your computer vulnerable without even realizing it!

1 Default Settings Aren’t Always Secure

While default settings may be convenient, they’re not great for security. For instance, default router settings make your home network easy to hack. Your router has a default admin name and password that could be vulnerable if relied upon. After all, default login information can be found easily online. Other router settings, such as remote management, WPS, and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), must also be switched off. These useful features are costly to your network security.

Similarly, vanilla browser settings may be problematic. To boost your overall security, you should secure your browsing data. This may include disabling third-party cookies and setting your browser not to sync data to protect your password. Doing this will make your browsing more meh, but you can’t put a price on privacy.

2 Updates Are More Critical Than You Think

If you had a dollar for each time you skipped system updates because they were mildly inconvenient, you’d have a good old stack of cash. Though this may not seem like a big deal, it could turn you into a victim of a cybersecurity attack.

System or software updates generally come with security patches that fix vulnerabilities and bugs hackers can use to access your system. These updates are usually time-critical as they address publicly known vulnerabilities most criminals are aware of.

These people prey on easy targets, and there’s nothing easier than picking off those with outdated software.

The same goes for using legacy apps incompatible with the latest security features or running devices with outdated firmware. You may be sticking to your guns by running Windows 7 because you love it. However, it’s a behind-the-times operating system that has been without official support for almost four years, is almost old enough to drive, and is easily exploitable.

3 You Use Your Admin Account for Day-to-Day Tasks

Using an admin account for general computing is like leaving your car keys with a known thief. An administrator account can typically make changes to a system without encountering any issues, such as warnings and alerts that may cause damage or otherwise. As you can imagine, malware developers love an administrator account, as it makes it easier to infect a computer without alerting the user.

On Windows, it’s fairly easy to avoid this fate by creating a standard, general-use account for day-to-day tasks and leisure time. The standard account has less access to Windows settings, and while it doesn’t mean you’ll be free of all malware, it can help to isolate the issue.

4 Your Secure Passwords Aren’t as Secure as You Think

There are plenty of password security myths. For example, using one strong password across different sites may seem like a good idea. After all, a strong password may seem impassable. Still, if a cybercriminal gets hold of it, they’ll try to access any related accounts. Thus, it’s much safer to create a different password for each of your accounts.

Even in cases where a website has seemingly solid password rules, the odds may be stacked against you. Let’s say there’s a minimum length requirement: potential hackers get an unfair advantage as they only need to crunch combinations that align with the length requirement. In other words, passwords may end up being as predictable as a dog name with a bunch of added numbers that are there only to make the password long enough.

Your passwords may suck because you’re either reusing them in an effort not to forget them or opting for something unoriginal and simple that you can remember. You can avoid these issues (and make your passwords better) by using a password manager. Generate hard-to-crack passwords with a random password generator for all your accounts and store them for convenience.

5 You’re Probably Leaking Private Data

Cookies and browser fingerprinting were implemented to enhance user experience. Yet hackers can exploit this level of information. For example, browser fingerprinting creates a unique fingerprint for each user that allows companies to track them across websites.

However, hackers can also build up browser fingerprint profiles, potentially without infecting your device first. You may visit a compromised website running an exploit that gathers information. The information is sent to the hacker, which can then be used to find other vulnerabilities in your system. Similarly, various HTML5 features can be exploited to capture browser information with requiring a specific vulnerability on your machine, while cookies can help to build a picture of the websites you visit.

Installing one of the more secure browsers is a good start. For instance, Firefox implemented fingerprinting protection that randomizes your footprint, making it harder to create a unique profile.

Sometimes, you may inadvertently give up your information by providing excessive app permissions. While this is generally a bigger problem on mobile devices, applications on a computer may be able to access your registry, personal files, and other programs. Not only is this predatory, but it can also be dangerous. If one app is compromised, the sneaky hacker may get free access to most of your data.

6 You Think “It Won’t Happen to You”

Have you heard of the normalcy bias?

It’s a cognitive bias in which most people simply don’t believe that bad things can happen to them, even when danger is staring them in the face. This isn’t psychological woo, as it most certainly applies to cybersecurity. Most people are under the impression they’re too small of a target and, as a result, let security fall by the wayside. This is exactly what hackers are looking for—an easy target with a painted bullseye on their back.

Even if you think you’re unimportant, know that most cyberattacks are opportunistic and automated. Remember what we said earlier about passwords? Hackers generally crack passwords by employing spray techniques (using commonly used passwords) across various websites. People behind these attacks have no idea who you are, and you just won the worst type of lottery.

No matter how simple you may think of yourself to be, your data is still valuable. Hackers may sell it on the dark web, use it to commit identity theft, steal your money, extort you, and do anything else that allows them to score some money.

So, no. You’re not small-time; you can simply be “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”