Online Threats Related to Instant Messaging and Identity Thefts

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Online threats are something that exists for as long as the internet itself. They appeared almost simultaneously, and for all this time, that has not changed. However, it is not because nobody paid any attention to them.

The fight against online threats like malware keeps on going, and every day is another battle. However, these threats came from people who made them, and they are the real problem. Because of these hackers, the threats are evolving, just like the means that we use against them.

Many believe that this is a never-ending war and that the new issue will come into existence as soon as the cure for the previous one is found. After all, adapting is what the viruses do best.

The rise of instant messaging

Until several years ago, the primary way of online communication were emails. People used emails as a substitute for letters, and it was new, but still familiar to them. Emails are still around today, and they probably won’t go away anytime soon.

However, another form of communication appeared, and its popularity grew at an amazing speed. We are talking, of course, about instant messaging (IM). According to statistics, over 2.9 billion people in the world are using some app that has IM. This includes WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, and LINE.

That is almost 40% of the people in the entire world. In comparison, only 2.4 billion people in the world use some form of social media.

The advantages of IM

IM obviously leads in this race, because it allows faster communication. It provides users with cheap, or even free apps that are simple to use, and that are simply more convenient.

The sudden popularity of IM not only encourages the development of these apps, but it also inspires it. Every once in awhile, someone somewhere comes up with a new feature for these apps, and two days later, that same feature is everywhere.

And of course, the information sharing is undeniably faster with IM around. It is obvious that this form of communication has impacted the entire world in unforeseen ways. And many would claim that the world is better today because of it.

The dangers of IM

As usual, nothing good comes without a price, and the better the thing is, the higher the price usually goes. In this case, the apps may be free, but the price isn’t necessarily measured in money. Instead, the danger comes from privacy breaches, which can lead to robberies, blackmail, and maybe even identity theft itself.

We send sensitive data to one another via IM without even thinking about it, and many services even store this data. With all of that data at one place, all that hackers need to do is bypass the security and all of your secrets don’t only belong to you anymore.

Breaking into the data pool of the company that provides the app is a difficult and long-lasting job that might not even end well for the hacker. These companies know how to protect themselves, as well as their goods, and breaching their defenses is not easy.

It is much easier to simply attack you, instead. That is where methods and techniques like phishing and spamming come in quite handy. You might receive a link from an unfamiliar source, pretending to be someone else. They usually try to win your trust, or even more often, they try to put you in a state of panic by telling you that something is wrong.

Their goal is for you to click on the link that will either lead you to a malicious site or page where your device can get infected, or trick you into giving away your login credentials and other data. Either way, if you do so, you’re in serious trouble.

But what can you do about it? Well, you can increase your protection, as well as learn more about the threats online. For example, just by reading this, you are now aware of what phishing attacks look like, and what they are for.

You should not stop using IM since it is a new, better way of communication. However, you must do whatever you can to keep your data safe, which is why we recommend using a VPN.

What is a VPN, and which one to use?

VPNs are Virtual Private Networks, and their purpose is to protect your internet connection, as well as your data flow. They offer multiple features for you to use in order to achieve this protection.

The most important ones are strong encryptions, which make your data unreadable to others. Also, there are security protocols, that shield your entire data flow from view, like a secure tunnel. And then there is a server network, which allows you to hide and mask your IP.

A curious side effect worth mentioning here is that changing your IP means that you get another one and that one is considered local in the place where the server is located at. This means that, by connecting to a server from another country, you will be able to access all of its geo-restricted content. Not a bad deal.

VPNs offer many other features in addition to these ones, but not all of them offer the same things. Also, the quality differs greatly as well, which is why it is very important to choose wisely. However, the fact is that there are hundreds of them out there and that making such a decision is not easy, If you choose a wrong one, you might be under the false impression of safety, which might lead to losing more data.

Because of this, we already came up with a list of VPNs for you to choose from, and these are not only the best ones but also the cheapest ones at that. Those are TorGuard, GhostVPN, IPVanish, and Private Internet Access (PIA). Using any one of these providers will give you safety, security, anonymity, and they won’t even record your actions.

How to set up a VPN?

Once you choose the VPN that you wish to use, the rest is easy. Simply follow these steps to set it up:

1. Go to your chosen VPN’s website
2. Sign up by entering your email and payment method
3. You will receive your login credentials as well as a link for downloading the VPN’s app via email
4. Download the app and install it
5. Log into it via the received credentials
6. Choose a server, and you are ready to go

By doing this, you will secure your entire connection. Everything that you do will now only be known to you, and nobody else, as long as you are careful enough not to share the info with someone else.

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Conclusion

Using instant messaging is a new way of communication. It is faster, cheaper, and generally better in any way from every other form. Whether it will stick around, or will it only be here for long enough to introduce the next level, we can not know.

What we do know is that it’s here now and that using it carelessly can lead to a lot of issues, including identity theft. Having your identity stolen can ruin your life, which is why you need to prevent it by protecting your data. VPNs are the best way to do so.

Pick your provider, and make sure that it does what you need it to do. Learn whatever you can about online dangers, as well as the best way to protect yourself from all of them, and you will be fine. We hope that you found this helpful and that you understand some of the online dangers better now.

Passion for Cyber Security and Technology.

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