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75% of us, don't care about our personal internet safety

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe really annoyed the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, when she was Home Secretary. She agreed with his stance on cyber crime, but not the way he went about it. He suggested Police would be slow to investigate online security crimes where the individuals failed to take online protection seriously especially not having an 'up to date antivirus. He openly backed banks, credit card providers doing the same, not refunding customers losses. She disliked the way he went about it, she's not so so keen on the other guy in the photo below either. 

internet safety, avg, bitdefender, internet safety talks

Buy Now & We'll install it!

The Metropolitan Police has been warning people to take cybercrime much more seriously, to buy online protection, to update, upgrade operating systems regularly and play their part in reducing internet crime. The Police expected GDPR to be taken a little more seriously by the public about internet safety.

The UK accounts for 4% of worldwide cybercrime worldwide by value, and where cybercrime is already 55% of all reported crime according to the National Statistics Office. The NSO predicts this rising to 75% by 2022. The leading threats are fake Technical support, (usually pretending to be Windows support), followed by Ransomware and Credit card fraud. Losses are (although many think it higher) £44, £111, £166 on average respectively. Currently, ‘We know what you’ve been watching email’ blackmails recipients for up to $3,000 in bitcoin. Interpol has warned people to ignore this email, yet it’s working well for international crime gangs.

Cybercrime worries Americans than their kids being beaten up.

Gallup polls Americans about what worries them most of all annually. 2018 (like previous years) found cybercrime, identity theft, credit card breaches worried Americans more than anything else. Unbelievably, Cybercrime worried people twice as much as one of their kids, being beaten up in school.

What Worries Americans! Gallup Nov'18

Some hard to understand results, considering how little most of care for internet security.
Cyber Crime breach  71%
Identity Theft  67%
Home Burgled  40%
Kid beaten up at School  32%

Yet despite the grave warnings of the Police and the public’s expressed concerns, the facts tell us 75% of us couldn’t care less about personal online protection which they use for 8 hours a day and which pose the greatest danger to them.

Our Passwords are 1970s invitations for 2019 criminals

Nothing demonstrates the public complete disinterest in internet safety more than our attitude to passwords. Some of us, still use passwords, from the 1990s. Up to 20% of all passwords can be guessed within 30 seconds. It is said between 3.5% to 5% of all passwords is ‘123456’, followed by ‘password’ ‘12345’, ‘qwerty’, etc. This list has barely changed in the last 20 years.

Many organisations are disinclined to insist on greater password protection such as 2FV, (two-factor verification) for fear of losing users, customers, followers. Passwords are 1970s protection for 2019 crime.

Apple, Don’t listen to the hype

Just because Apple is the richest and occasionally the largest company on the planet doesn’t make it omnipotent. MacBook crime rose 80% in 2017. 1.2 billion people use iPhones. 15 years ago when Apple was a dot on the landscape, this myth might have been true, criminals just weren’t that bothered about their tiny ecosystem. 

Nigerian General 2.0 – ‘We know what you’ve been watching’

One email circulating currently claims to have been watching & recording people late at night seeks $700 to $2000 to be paid in Bitcoin. If they had this access, you would already be locked out and they would have demanded money with menaces.  Here at BeSecureOnline, we know that people pay these Bitcoin ransoms, only to discover antidotes don’t work. Every minute of the day, people lives, memories, photographs and finances are destroyed by these criminal gangs on the other side of the world. 20 years of photographs are not something you want to lose.

Following breaches at LinkedIn, Playstation, Yahoo, eBay to name just a few there are literally billions of email addresses for criminals work on. Many of these blackmailing emails now feature your password in the email subject line. This can be very stressful for people.

If you want to see if any of your email accounts have ever been breached click this link. 2 of my email addresses were here. Yahoo is currently agreeing a compensation fund for it’s breached users, their offer, not agreed by a Judge stands at $117 million. Although it is going to be hard to share that amongst the 3.2 billion accounts breached. It’s suggested this settlement, funded by Verizon, the new owner, could be Yahoo!s last stand.

What can you do today! 2FV, VPN and beyond.

Check your backups, if none, install some. Upgrade your passwords, start using 2-factor verification also known as 2FV. Don’t just install online protection like anti-virus, buy some VPN as well.  If you buy the top of line options like Bitdefender Total Security or Kaspersky TS online protection you will most likely get parental control, password manager and other goodies included.

We love VPN, Your Phone shouldn’t leave home without one. Cheap, effective and incredibly useful. Virtual Private Network as they are known, do 3 great things.  VPN protects and encrypts all your internet traffic by hiding your IP address. Secondly, it protects your privacy on free Public Wi-Fi routers like Hotels, Airports, Cafes meaning you won’t leak your most important details like your Name, Date of Birth, email address, home address. Lastly, it’s not the most important feature, but easily the best, VPN lets you watch country-restricted content worldwide, my favourite BBC iPlayer & US Netflix (works occasionally). So good, so safe, it ought to be the law. Check out Freedome VPN & AVG VPN options from €18.90. Buy Freedome VPN

Collecting data goes against the fundamental purpose of a VPN, is indeed anti-privacy and has never been seen with any of the renowned VPNs such as F-Secure Freedome VPN or AVG Secure VPN.

Don’t use a free VPN, a surprisingly large number of them are owned by Chinese companies, many of whom are selling your data.

 

BeSecureOnline specialises in internet protection products, parental control, VPN products. We have an installation service for our most popular products We do talks for Business, School and Government on social media, the internet and internet safety. Read 'Don't use Chinese VPN'

BeSecureOnline About Us 

Together with our online safety talks, we sell some of the world’s best internet safety software and antiviruses. Free antiviruses and Free VPNs no longer offer you sufficient protection.

Our products are extremely affordable, come with great service support and can be purchased from the comfort of your home.

Visit our online store or contact us for more information about our internet safety talks and internet security products.

Links

China own your VPN

F-Secure VPN 

Links www.besecureonline.co.uk

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