The risk of cyberattacks has increased significantly over the past couple of years. Since 2020, online shopping has become a standard way of spending money, making people more likely to put their banking credentials on a website. This gave hackers plenty of courage, leading to increased financial leaks from individuals who were not careful enough.
If you want to earn money online, you must take all the safety precautions to ensure you are protected from ill-wishers. The right action taken at the correct time can save you a world of headaches, keeping your financial information from being visible to potential hackers. Here are some steps that you should go through.
1. Use Safe Payment Methods
To begin with, you must ensure your cashless payment method is secure and does not compromise your financial safety. Using a debit card is the most common method, but you can also use e-wallets and, in some cases, cryptocurrency. Moreover, credit cards are seen as secured payment methods, providing crowd monitoring and encryption features.
On the plus side, most banks offering credit and debit cards also add fraud liability coverage. This way, even if your account does get hacked into, you will have a good chance of recovering your money.
2. Go for Reputable Platforms
No matter how secure your payment method may be, if the platform you use is not, you could have a problem. Always use reputable websites that you know are safe and secure. If it is the first time you use such a site, make sure it has an SSL certificate.
These types of platforms are encrypted, which means that all of your information should be protected. To check, all you have to do is look at the link. If it starts with “https,” you are good to go. However, if it begins with “http” (without an “s” at the end), you should leave immediately because it isn’t secure.
3. Use the Right Data Protection Measures
After you have established that the website is secure, you might want to start implementing your own data protection measures. Use strong passwords and set up data retention policies for the websites you use. Your info should be backed up on an external drive, and regular antivirus checks must be done to prevent malware.
4. Don’t Use Your Main Debit or Credit Card
If you earn money online, you should not use your primary debit or credit card for everything. Let’s say you already found a way to monetize content, like writing, and have set everything up – it might feel troublesome dealing with multiple cards, but this can give you numerous veils of protection. You can withdraw or add money into one account and then keep the rest in a different one.
Some online banks even offer the option of virtual burner cards, which are only valid for one use. This will make it difficult for hackers to enter your account, as they don’t have your credentials.
5. Use Your Own Computer and Internet Connection
While convenient, public Wi-Fi can come with serious security risks for your assets. In fact, four out of ten users whose information was compromised were using public wireless connections during the attack.
While it might seem like a good pointer to reduce your network usage, using your own computer and Internet connection is safer when earning money online. Public Wi-Fis are more accessible to hack into due to their broader coverage, and you cannot know what encryption methods they use to protect the data.
6. Install a Reliable VPN
If push comes to shove and you have no choice but to use a public network, at least ensure you install a VPN. You can choose a reliable service in the VPN comparison table. This tool can make your online endeavors more secure, as it encrypts your activity and hides your IP address.
This kind of software can assign you a new IP through a VPN provider, concealing your real one from unwanted third parties. This reduces your chances of getting hacked, thus protecting your financial assets.
The Bottom Line
Earning money online can be an excellent way to increase your income, but you will need to be extremely careful and thorough with your security. Otherwise, you could just end up losing the cash you worked so hard to get.
So, make sure to always be cautious, and enjoy your earning online experience to the fullest. Hopefully, our tips have given you some insights that you’ll make sure to implement in your daily earning practices.
