Apply these easy tips to save yourself from IP address hacking.
Data breaches can expose people’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and recent data suggests that nearly three hundred million people are already at risk of identity theft and fraud.
With horrific cases of identity theft news dominating in the media, many people forget to pay attention to the fact that their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are vulnerable from IP address hacking.
Most of us are familiar with forums or messaging boards humorously threatening us with a mascot with an IP address checker that holds up a sign with our IP addresses. Many users don’t recognize this as a problem. The truth is that this series of numbers actually comprises the core of your online identity, and can put you in a lot of trouble if it’s hacked.
The United States has the most botnet control servers in the world. Recent data suggests that over the last year, 36% of these servers were hosted in America, while 24% were hosted in undefined countries.
IP address trackers can spell havoc for the security of your network and systems in ways people don’t always fully appreciate.
In this article, we will discuss the 5 top tips you can use to secure your IP address from unauthorized access. For more information on local support and troubleshooting for effective cyber security, please reach out to Cybersecurity Services Vancouver.
Reasons Why Cybercriminals Are Interested In Hacking Your IP Address
While it’s true that hacking your IP address won’t give criminals access to your account or passwords; malicious actors can use stolen IP addresses to conduct their illegal activities.
They could use the addresses to access unauthorized online content, use them to track your location for a host of nefarious activities, use your address to upload and disseminate questionable online content, and attack your network with malware that results in a network failure.
Managed IT Services Vancouver has an array of resources on the various ways hackers can compromise your security through IP address leaks.
5 Ways Of Protecting IP Address From Hackers
1. Virtual private networks
The basic minimum possible step you can take in order to secure your network from unauthorized access is to use a reliable Virtual Private Network or VPN. The problem is that many individuals and small enterprises continue to look at VPNs as an added burden.
But making use of IP address VPN is the single most effective way to ensure a degree of access control, user authorization protocols and other critical features that secure your network from unauthorized access.
As far as IP addresses are concerned, VPNs enable you to hide your identity, your location and other details that prevent hackers from getting access to your exact location. VPNs also make it safe for organizations to access the networks from remote locations or even connect to the network using public Wi-Fi without compromising security.
Your activities stay hidden as VPNs shield all of them with an encrypted pathway. This is particularly relevant for businesses as it provides an easy way for them to secure sensitive information including intellectual property from data breaches.
As there are a plethora of options to choose from, VPNs are becoming increasingly cost-effective for users.
2. Hedging your bets on password strength
Ensuring optimum password hygiene remains one of the most basic things for organizations to achieve in order to secure their networks.
Humans have a habit of sticking to behaviours and this makes it hard for companies to secure their networks when people continue to use names, birthdays, and anniversaries for passwords.
With password-cracking abilities more powerful than ever thanks to Technologies like AI, ML and a host of compromised data already widely available on the dark net – it’s easier than ever for hackers to compromise your passwords.
While we understand that changing passwords regularly can be confusing for the average user, we strongly recommend companies to make use of reliable password managers that can automate the process for users.
3. Make use of strong antivirus programs
Many users consider their systems to be safe and secure just because they have downloaded a free antivirus program off the Internet. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The fact is that most free antivirus programs are not as reliable as paid ones and even then, paid antivirus programs can only perform at peak efficiencies when they are updated on a regular basis.
Effective protection from cyber-attacks is an evolving process and developers tend to send patches as soon as they discover a vulnerability in the program or become aware of an evolving threat. It is up to the users to make use of these with timely updates. Users could also choose to opt for additional defensive measures such as anti-malware and anti-spyware software.
4. Protect the integrity of your routers
Putting a firewall on your router and regularly updating the access codes is a basic measure of security for IP addresses for routers that should not be neglected. Default settings are ridiculously easy to hack into and users are meant to update these as soon as they install the equipment.
You know your security software is effective when you get alerts for attempted breaches. Please remember that the passwords provided by your Internet Service provider remain some of the most vulnerable entry points for hackers, and they are incredibly easy to detect.
In order to secure your network, please customize your passwords, install antivirus software and update everything religiously.
5. Make use of dynamic IP addresses
It is common practice for most users and website owners to choose a static IP address instead of a dynamic one. However, due to their very nature, a dynamic IP address keeps on changing and proves to be a much tougher target for hackers.
In comparison, a static IP address remains the same that allows hackers plenty of time to decipher it. To protect yourself better from hacking attempts, always choose a dynamic IP address unless there are technical reasons preventing you from doing it.
Note: This is a post by Sam Goh
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