How to protect your accounts — cyber police tips
Many widespread fraudulent schemes are based on taking over citizens' accounts on instant messengers, social networks or online services. That is why it is important to ensure maximum protection of accounts and the personal information they contain.
Usually, when creating an account, the user must specify the login and password to the account. The login is a kind of virtual username, and the password is the key to log in. If the password is unreliable, then it is easier for a hacker to hack the account and gain access to personal information.
In turn, the cyber police recommend that you follow the following tips when creating passwords and using accounts:
- To create a password, use at least 8 characters, including capital (ABV) and uppercase (ABV) letters, numbers and special characters (~,%; =, >, etc.). Combinations such as “123456”, “11111”, “qwerty”, “rassword”, “abc123”, “admin” are not reliable passwords;
- invent the original password for each account;
- do not use as a password the name, surname, phone number, date of birth;
- refrain from using as passwords phrases of daily use (quotes, slogans, titles of works, etc.);
- immediately change passwords in case of suspicion of compromise;
- do not store recorded passwords in the mobile phone case or in the open near the computer;
- do not send passwords in instant messengers or communicate them to third parties;
- be sure to set up two-factor authentication where possible;
- Before entering authorization data, carefully look at the URL of the site - inaccuracy of even one character may indicate that you are on a phishing resource;
- regularly view connected devices and active sessions in instant messengers;
- use only licensed software. If necessary, install antivirus software and set it up to update regularly.
National Police of Ukraine
