Ways to avoid being hacked during black friday

Black Friday is a day when millions of purchases are made. Stores around the world are full of discounts, so millions of users take advantage of this event to buy all kinds of products. The best thing is that discounts are present in all kinds of product categories.

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15 ways to avoid being hacked on Black Friday

Most of the users usually make their purchases in stores that they usually visit frequently. Trusted sites that also offer you a great discount on that day. But, on many occasions users do not worry about security during Black Friday.

An event that moves as much money as this is certainly very attractive to criminals. Millions of people make purchases and a lot of money moves. So they are looking for a multitude of possible ways to obtain some benefit. Fake websites or fraudulent email campaigns are some of the actions that we can find facing Black Friday. Therefore, here we leave you with a series of tips that will prevent you from being hacked or robbed during this great party of discounts. Ready to know these tips?

Don't use the same passwords

Something that happens to us frequently is that we tend to use the same passwords more than once. It is difficult to remember a different password for each site. So we have to create simple passwords that are easy to remember. The problem is that there are millions of users who use passwords like "123456789" or "abc1234". This makes us vulnerable to possible attacks by users.

The recommendation is then to bet on different passwords for each account you have. Also, there are always options to check if a password we have created is secure or not. One of them, very easy to use is Better Buys.

Check if you have been hacked before

We may have been hacked before but we don't know. Therefore, we have to make use of tools that help us to discover this problem. Thus, we can know if our data has been exposed to hackers. It can also be useful before taking other types of actions. One of the best and best known tools in this case is Have I been pwned?. Simply enter an email account or a username.

You can visit the website here and check if you have been the victim of an attack previously.

Security patches

This is always recommended, but some users may forget to do it. We recommend updating and having the latest security patches available. They are especially relevant to protect us against any vulnerability that exists. And thus we avoid various dangers such as ransomware or viruses. Typically, we usually receive security patches automatically.

In case this does not happen it is recommended that you go to the settings of your device, to activate this option and also to be able to install any patch that is available.

Please check before downloading

Before downloading an application on our smartphone or a program on our computer, it should be checked that there is nothing strange. Checking the permissions you request from us can reveal that it is a malware or virus. So it is a simple security measure but it can help us a lot in some cases.

We can always check the permissions of the applications in the settings of our device. In addition, it is always recommended to download the applications officially on Google Play, which is usually the safest option. There you can also find the comments of the users, so if there is a problem it will be reflected in those comments.

Antivirus

Having an antivirus is essential, but it is also essential to always keep it updated. For users with Windows 10, we already have the security system that Windows includes as standard. But you can always make use of other antivirus like AVG, Kaspersky or Avast that work perfectly.

Secure web pages

When we buy during Black Friday, the safest thing is that we use payment systems such as PayPal. Either we give our credit card or we use online banking. In this type of transaction we have to make sure that the page is a secure page. Generally we see it in a very fast way in the URL of the website itself that begins with

Also in Chrome we can see that next to the URL there is a symbol of a padlock that indicates that it is safe. In addition, Google Chrome has been making improvements in this field for some time against http websites. If it is not a secure website, the browser will inform you. Therefore, it is recommended to always avoid them, as there are dangers such as phishing or identity theft lurking.

Control the WiFi

A large part of users have WiFi in their homes and use it to navigate. We must try to have a password that is strong and secure, to prevent anyone from connecting to our WiFi network. The use of applications to check if someone has connected or is using our WiFi can be interesting if you suspect that someone is using our connection.

In this article you can discover more ways to check who is using your WiFi. When you're away from home, using an open WiFi network is somewhat controversial. It can be useful for any query, but never share private data or carry out activities such as consulting your bank online. Since the probability that this data is being shared with third parties is higher.

Privacy on your social networks

Social networks have become essential in the daily lives of millions of people. We share many of the things that happen in our lives in them. There is no problem with that, as long as you do it privately. Ideally, everything you post on Facebook is private and only your contacts can see it. If not, you may be sharing information that you shouldn't with strangers.

It is also recommended to try to limit what Google knows about you. If you Google your name, it is best to get as few results as possible. There are pages that can help you in this task of blocking websites that have information about you. One of the best and simplest options is Ghostery. You can visit the web here and get more information about it.

Beware of public loading sites

There are more and more public places that offer you the option of charging your phone. Many stores have this option, and there are also airports or train stations that have this function. It can certainly be very useful for consumers at any given time. But these public USBs also have their dangers.

They can hack your phone or introduce malware. So its use should be null, or at least the minimum possible. If you are going to use a USB cable, just connect it to a trusted computer.

Use instant messaging apps with encryption

Instant messaging applications have become basic in our smartphones. The most popular with WhatsApp and Telegram, and WeChat in the case of China. Many users share a large amount of information in these applications, in many cases private data.

Therefore, to protect us to the maximum, the recommended thing is that they are applications that use encryption in their messages, to protect the information that users are sending. Not all applications on the market do this. Telegram or WhatsApp yes, so both are safe on paper. Although Telegram has always stood out for being the safest application in this category. Therefore, if during your purchases you are going to send messages with private data (card number, bank account) in an application like these, be careful and choose the appropriate application. Although if you are going to share this data, the best thing would be to do it in a phone call.

Suspicious emails

Many of the scams that exist today are spread through emails. Messages with false invoices, fines or malicious links. On many occasions they pose as a store, a brand, or a government administration. There are also some that tell you that you must log in to your bank. We must be very attentive to these types of messages, since they can cause us many problems.

Companies such as Apple, WhatsApp or most government administrations will not send you an email so that you can log in or share bank information. If you receive such a message, you must suspect that there is a gang of criminals behind it. In case of doubts about the veracity of the message, it is always best to contact the company directly. So you will be able to clarify this situation and check if you were right in your suspicions.

Another way to avoid falling into this trap, if they send you a message with a link that tells you to log in, don't click on that link. Open a new tab and enter the URL of the web where you must enter. This way you will be able to verify that you are not entering a fake website that closely resembles the original.

Now that Black Friday is approaching, it is likely that we will find fraudulent emails that mention offers or promotions from some stores. Surely they announce great discounts or exclusive promotions and include a link to enter. Do not click on these links, as they are almost certainly a trap.

Be careful what you post

Everything you post on the net remains on the net. Therefore, we must be very careful with what we publish on any page. No private information, about us or another person, should be shared at any time. Nor should you post messages with violent or threatening content, or messages that could harm us or others.

Sign off

A good habit that we should always try to maintain is to log out when we leave a website. If you are done using Facebook, sign out when done. Do it with all the pages that require login. It is also recommended to do it with the computer. If you have already finished working and using your computer for today, or you are not going to use it in the next few hours, log out.

Therefore, if during Black Friday you log in to a store where you are registered as a customer, when you have finished making your purchases do not forget to log out.

Use your common sense

A multitude of tips can be given, but the most important thing at all times is that you use your common sense. If a message they send you is too good to be true, if the discount on that product is too high, or they call you by phone offering support for your computer, it is most likely a scam.

So use your head and don't do anything stupid. Visit trusted websites and if there is something that does not suit you and makes you suspicious, the best thing is that you do not go ahead. You will surely avoid any displeasure.

With these little tips we hope that your shopping day during Black Friday will be a little more pleasant and that it will be safe at all times. Although these tips can also be applied to the use of the Internet in general. So we hope you find them useful and in this way your experience is always pleasant and you have the least amount of problems and shocks possible.