GeekExtreme

Nearly everything is online these days. We keep in touch with friends via social media, do our banking and bill payments online, shop online, stream our music from the internet, and even adjust our thermostats via apps on our phone.

Even just doing something as simple as reading this right now means that you’re connected to the internet. While the internet is an amazing thing, being connected to it means that there’s a potential for any number of thieves, hackers, and unsavory characters to be connected to you. Here’s what you need to know about cybersecurity in today’s increasingly-connected world.

Common Cybersecurity Threats

Staying protected is one part being familiar with the tactics hackers commonly use to get into your computer, devices, and network, as well as one part installing passwords and software to protect them. Here are a few of the ways cyber criminals target unsuspecting users.

Phishing: Phishing scams involve a hacker trying to trick you into revealing valuable personal information or passwords. They’ll often do it by sending emails that closely resemble ones commonly used by banks or places with which you do business. Click the link in the email and enter your password, account number, or other info, and the hackers now have it to do whatever they please.

Malware/Ransomware: These tactics involve getting someone to download software on their computer that serves the hacker’s purposes. With malware, the software may track keystrokes and record personal information or passwords that are typed in. Ransomware involves freezing up a person’s access to their computer or data in exchange for a ransom payment to the hacker.

What Can You Do?

Knowledge is power, and the first thing you can do to stay safe is familiarize yourself with current threats. Never click any links, download files, or enter information via emails or websites that you’re not 100% sure of.

Beyond this, protect your devices (including your wifi network) with strong passwords. You can also install software that will regularly scan your devices for viruses, malware, and other suspicious activity.

You can’t avoid being connected these days, but with the proper knowledge and planning, you can absolutely make sure you’re protected.

We’ve all been there. You’ve got a group of longtime friends together for dinner and give the waiter your phone to snap a picture. He gets everyone all in focus and…the battery goes dead. Or you’re traveling for business and left the hotel in the morning with a full charge, only to find that by noontime, your battery indicator is a bright red. What gives? How can you make sure your phone’s battery is charged and ready when you need it most?

While you can buy on-the-go rechargers and extra battery packs, there are a few ways you can modify your everyday behavior to help your battery last longer. Of course, you can simply put it in airplane mode, but what about battery-saving strategies that will actually let you use your phone? Here we go with a list of tips that will be game-changers for your battery life.

Tone down the brightness: A bright screen looks great (especially outside), but it’s a huge battery-killer. Make it as dim as possible for you to still be able to see it.

Use WiFi whenever possible. You may not realize it, but browsing and emailing over your cellular network actually eats more battery power than connecting via WiFi. This not only helps extend your data plan; it will also help extend your battery life.

Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth when you’re not using them. While you want to use WiFi instead of cellular when you have the choice, when you’re not using your phone and have it tucked away, you don’t want the WiFi or Bluetooth running in the background. Turn them off.

Turn off location services. Similarly, location services that make certain apps a snap to use also drain your battery when they’re constantly tracking you in the background. Disable them when not in use.

Disable vibrate. While it’s great to have your phone vibrate when someone calls, that takes extra power. If you’re desperate to make your battery last longer, simply settle for a ringtone or screen notification for a call.

While all of these tips require a little extra effort on your part, they’re definitely worth it when at the end of a long day, you still have a whopping 5% of your battery left. Mission accomplished!