Online Security Measures

Internet access is spreading fast, from villages to cities. Students use it to study, parents use it for banking, and almost everyone uses it to talk with friends. As more people go online, more of their photos, messages, passwords and account details travel across the internet too. That is why every user now needs to know how to stay safe online.

We put many kinds of information on the internet. If that information is misused, serious trouble can follow. The information most at risk is:

• photos shared on social media and the messages typed with them
• passwords for social media and email
• passwords used for internet banking
• details filled into online forms on different websites

When a web browser gets hacked or someone's personal details get stolen, the cause is weak online security. The stolen details can then be used to threaten and frighten the person they belong to. Stolen banking details can be used to take money out of that person's bank account.

Any website we use for an online service should be safe. Before typing your name, phone number, password or any other personal detail into a website, check whether it is genuine and secure. The way to check is to look at the website's security certificate.

• Step 1: Look at the address bar at the top of the browser, where the website's address is written.
• Step 2: Click the small symbol just before the address, which is usually a padlock.
• Step 3: A pop-up window opens. It tells you whether the website has been verified and whether it is safe to give it your personal details.
• Step 4: Enter your details only if the window shows 'Connection is secure' and 'Certificate (Valid)'.

Links sent in the name of a gift or a lottery prize, and unwanted links that arrive on social media, are not all safe. A message such as 'You have won a new mobile phone, click here and fill in your details' is very often a trap for stealing information. Clicking such a link, or filling in a form on such a site, can let your information be stolen. So before filling in any online form, find out whether the website is genuine.

Cyberbullying takes many forms. Each of the following is an example of it:

• threatening to make someone's personal details public on the internet
• sending messages to frighten a person
• sending messages that contain indecent material
• putting someone down so that they feel worthless
• spreading false rumours about someone online

Cyberbullying of teenagers mostly happens through social media, messenger apps and email. So when using these, follow these habits:

• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not actually know.
• Do not share personal details or private matters while chatting or messaging online.
• Keep the photos and other details you share on social media protected.
• If anyone tries to bully you online, keep a record of it, such as screenshots and messages, and tell your parents or guardians.

When you walk along a muddy path, you leave footprints behind you. Everything we do on the internet leaves marks behind in the same way. These marks are called a digital footprint.

A digital footprint includes the websites we have visited, the emails we have sent, the information we have given for online services, and the likes, shares, comments and status updates we post on social media. All of this evidence can be searched for when needed.

For example, when an unknown person does something through a website, the IP address given to them by their internet service provider can be traced to find out where that person is. In the same way, if someone posts threatening content on social media and deletes it later, a copy stays saved in the social media company's database. Using evidence found like this, the police can catch that person.

A device used for the internet keeps a record of the websites we visited, and it may also store the passwords we typed. This is risky on a shared computer or someone else's device, because whoever uses it next can see those details. So after using the internet on such a device:

• Step 1: Open the history section of the browser.
• Step 2: Open the option for deleting browsing data and tick the history, cookies and temporary files.
• Step 3: Click 'Delete' to clear the cache.

When data moves through a computer network such as the internet, harmful data can come in along with useful data. A guard at a gate lets known people in and stops strangers. A firewall does the same job for a computer.

A software firewall comes installed along with the computer's operating system, for example Microsoft Windows. It should always be kept switched on while using the internet.

Bank data servers and the website databases of many organisations hold the personal details of thousands of people. When the firewall is weak, events such as money being stolen by ATM hacking and data being stolen by website hacking take place. There have been cases in Nepal too where people involved in such crimes were arrested.

Slowly the virus starts giving the computer orders according to its own program. An infected computer therefore shows problems like these:

• programs open by themselves
• some data gets deleted
• the computer becomes slow at processing information in its memory

A computer virus does not jump from one computer to another on its own. When data is copied from an infected computer onto a pen drive, the virus file is copied too without being seen, and when that pen drive is plugged into another computer the virus arrives there. A virus can also get in along with data downloaded from an unauthorised website.

Antivirus software is used to detect, separate and remove viruses that have reached the computer through the internet or through a pen drive. Microsoft Defender, for example, is antivirus software that comes with Windows when it is installed. Other antivirus software can also be bought and installed.

Unsafe use of the internet has led to many incidents. Some of the main cyber crimes seen in Nepal are:

• ATM attacks: hacking ATMs or bank systems to steal money
• Spear phishing: sending one particular person a fake message or link that pretends to come from someone they trust, to get their password or details
• Privacy leaks: personal details getting out without permission
• Social media crimes: harassment, identity theft, and spreading false information