12 Dumb User Mistakes That Will Get You Hacked

Ok, I had to write this blog for those people who just won’t learn until its too late and one day they get hacked.

1. Not having Anti-Virus Software installed which does not get automatically updated.
2. Not having your computer automatically downloading and installing operating system patch updates.
3. Turning off your computer’s firewall.
4. Not using a strong password at least 8 characters or longer that uses upper & lower case alpha, numeric and special characters.
5. Clicking on unfamiliar email and web site links.
6. Allowing other people to use your computer; especially little kids who visit game sites.
7. Installing unfamiliar applications, games and utilities that you have not researched.
8. Being tricked to enter your login and ID into an email or website that says they need your login credentials.
9. Using a public computer and not logging off after you finish using it.
10. Doing on-line financial transactions on a public computer; you can still use a phone you know to do this with much less risk.
11. Sharing your login ID and Passwords with other people.
12. Installing a new device and software and not changing the default out of the box or install login information. Example: login ID: Administrator, admin, 0000 and password.

If you have done any of the above, stop it immediately!

Enjoy and be safe!

Julius Clark, MBA, CISSP, CISA

Information Security Professional