When reading about hackers, it is interesting to see that studies suggest that there is no middle ground. People are either scared of them to the point where they don’t want to do anything online, or they are thinking the chance of them being the victim of a hacker is so slim that they just don’t care. The thing is that either of these mindsets are wrong.
The reality is that as soon as you turn on the wi-fi signal on your smartphone or log online, you are a potential target for a hacker. Sure, there are precautions you can take to minimize the chance of hackers getting your personal information, but if you don’t know what they are, which many people don’t, then you are pretty much a sitting duck. A lot of people don’t know that the chance of hackers getting your credit card information is as high when you are taking your wallet out for a walk as it is when you are online. If they see that you have your wallet in your back pocket, for example, they can just pretend to bump into you and use a hidden scanner to scan your credit card information instantly. It happened to me and it anything but a pleasant experience. I patched up that security hole by getting myself a Secrid, a metal card holder that makes it impossible for hackers to scan (skim) my cards.
In a short documentary titled “Hack Attack: What Happens When You Dare Expert Hackers To Hack You” by Real Future, Kevin Roose takes us to the very edge of hacking and explores just how easy it is for hackers to get your information. The most common way to acquire someone’s personal information is through Social Engineering. A form of hacking where you use your social skills to imitate someone and that way obtain what you are looking for.
The documentary is an eye-opening and interesting look at just how vulnerable we all are to the digital thieves that are roaming this planet. I strongly advise anyone to watch it as it has a lot of pointers on how you can secure your own personal information, or at least as best as is now possible. Hackers will always find new ways to get what they want so security experts are always trying to patch up any security holes that might be uncovered.
Don’t get too paranoid, however, as there are plenty of points made why you shouldn’t be scared as well. As it is said in the documentary, -“Do you worry about trained martial artists beating you up on the street?” The sentiment is simple, the reason why skilled hackers would target you instead of some big corporation or a celebrity is close to none existent. So, try not to be too worried. A few simple precautions and you should be all good.
How Easy Hackers Get Your Personal Information
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