5 Reasons App Security is Important on the Internet

Digital marketers who use unprotected and unsecured apps online risk their entire business. With hackers and cyber criminals everywhere on the internet, unsecured and unprotected apps are a huge risk for any online business no matter the size of the business. In this age and time particularly now that many more businesses are going online daily, security has become one of the most essential factors to take into consideration when your business is going digitized. Apps are indispensable to most online operations and most marketers depend hugely on them. But, significantly, Apps are particularly most vulnerable to cyber threats as they are linked with cloud networks. It is these networks make Apps easily accessible to everyone. This puts Apps at a higher risk of data leaks, hacking and cyber threats, making it imperative that they be protected and secured at all times. Irrespective of the size of your online business, securing your Apps is a very smart business decision you must have to make. If you are marketing products online, without a secure App, you lose the trust and loyalty of most of your customers.

 
Below are 5 of the strongest reasons App security is important on the Internet. According to expert webmasters, App security is important for:

1. Combating Security Breaches and Threats

With hackers and cyber criminals on the prowl on the internet, securing your Apps online has become hugely imperative. As most digital marketers very well know, marketing with unsecured Apps, can make your business really vulnerable to cyber threats and security breaches. No business owner can be comfortable doing business in an environment where because of App insecurity, cyber criminals can easily seize the business or wipe it out completely.

2. Avoiding Data Leaks

Online data are hugely valuable assets for businesses. The core and even the soul of a business may lie embedded in such data. If your App is secure, you can easily protect your data against any chances of data leaks. Because most Apps usually contain users’ data which cyber attackers and hackers are very much interested in, the threat is always there. But, if your App is secured, hackers and cyber criminals would find it very difficult to steal any data from your website without your permission.

3. Gaining User Confidence in the App

If an App is insecure and unprotected, it cannot be downloaded easily by anyone. That is what really tests user confidence on such App. In extreme cases, most users prefer to stay away from such App. But, if your app is secure, it will help build users’ trust and consequently help to increase the number of downloads. With downloadable App, user confidence is boosted making them more comfortable in sharing their information with your business.

4. Avoiding Phishing Attacks

As businesses are growing on the internet, so are phishing attacks. Significantly, it is only secure Apps that can effectively prevent phishing attacks. When your App does not have security measures in place, it is prone to these attacks. The good news though is that business owners can take advantage of advanced security tools online to prevent hackers from performing any phishing attacks on their Apps.

5. Meeting Country-Specific Regulations

App makers are always concerned about which region or country their Apps will be in use. They always need all the information that can help them to design and launch Apps with the right country-specific regulations. Granted security is important to online users no matter where they are in the world but advanced countries are usually more stringent about regulations covering these Apps. And, security is one of the most vital regulations that a country imposes on the use of Apps. So, before launching an App in the market, businesses must always make sure it follows the country-specific regulations. Creating a well-secured and protected App becomes imperative to meet these regulations.

5 Smart Ways to Keep Your Social Media Accounts Secure

You may want to have a strong online presence if you market on social media, but it carries some risks. A strong online presence unduly exposes your business to hackers and you must strive to find a way around that if you don’t want them to stifle you out of business. Characteristically, most hackers are always very smart. So, you’ve got to be smart too if you want to stay a step ahead them in your social media marketing. You must take deliberate steps to protect your business from cyber criminals who are always on the prowl.

 
Here is what expert marketers recommend to keep your social media accounts protected round the clock.

1. Be Alert to Suspicious Activity: Cyber criminals are always on the prowl, the reason you must always be on alert for suspicious activity on your accounts. Diligently monitor your accounts for suspicious activity and take quick remedial measures if you notice any unauthorized activity. Some of such measures include but not limited to quickly changing your password, strengthening it or promptly reporting the activity to the platform admins.

2. Use Strong Encryption Tools: A social app like Whatsapp boasts of end-to-end encryption but even that may not be foolproof. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn use some encryption too to keep users’ data safe and secure. If you have access to additional encryption tools, you can use them in addition to what the social media platforms provide. When it comes to matters of online security for your social media accounts, you can never be too prepared.
 
3. Regularly Change Your Passwords: This is a good idea to keep hackers real busy trying unsuccessfully to break your passwords. If you change your passwords regularly and at any time you suspect any unauthorized activity, it can help you stave off security breaches. It may appear complex and requiring a lot of efforts from time to time, but it is all worth the while to keep your accounts secured.

4. Use Only Secure Passwords: It is only social media accounts with simple passwords that can be hacked easily. The more complex the passwords are, the more difficult it is to hack the accounts. What ensure this complexity are the length of characters counts and the mixture of these characters. Therefore, you must avoid using passwords that are easy to guess such as first names, names of pets, maiden names and so on. The general rule for strong passwords is a minimum 8-12 characters length, mixture of uppercase and lowercase characters, mixed with numbers and even some special and not too common characters/symbols.

TIP: No matter how secure your password appears to be, never use the same password across every social platform. Always make your passwords unique for each social media account.

5: Adopt Two-Factor Authentication: Since hackers are becoming smarter by the day, some social media platforms are now on their own recommending and even enforcing two-factor authentication on their accounts. It simply makes the job of hackers pretty difficult. When in place, it helps to prevent unauthorized parties from accessing your social media accounts. Even when they try, the platforms promptly raise alarms to notify and warn the accounts owners. Two-factor authentication is effective at point of logging in. While in place, anytime anyone tries to log in to your account, they’ll be asked to provide a second authentication factor. This factor may be a numeric code sent to your email or phone. It is that code in addition to your usual password that can give access into your account. Such authentication simply creates a huge lot of problems for hackers no doubt.

Major Drawbacks to Using Link Cloaking Software

This is the type of issue which could best be directed to seasoned Webmasters and not to amateurs like most of us Affiliates in SFI business. However, let me try to explain it in the plain language through which I understand it. Link cloaking software became useful to protect links from being hijacked by ubiquitous online predators and or hackers. The main drawbacks to using link cloaking software are as follows.

1. It can only be used effectively by experienced online marketers.
2. Some smart online thief can always find a way around the software.
3. The software does not provide foolproof-all-round protection.
4. Link cloaking is not considered as a very reliable security measure.
5. It becomes more reliable only when combined with encryption like WPA, Wi-Fi Protected Access and suck line encryption.
6. You can’t use the software in isolation and expect perfect results.
7. You can only discover if it is ineffective after you have been “hit.”

These are about the major drawbacks I can recollect when you use link cloaking software.
 

How Hackers Get Your Vital Information

Beware! Identity thieves are crawling all over the Internet. Every 3 seconds of the day, some innocent persons like you fall victim to their schemes. For now, no one is immune so please pay attention to this information. As the records indicate, the best-known abuse is theft of your credit card numbers. When it happens, many customers experience fraudulent charges on their accounts. Credit Card numbers are obtained in many ways. Sometimes it’s as simple as a small device called a skimmer that captures the data on your magnetic strip. Restaurant staffers and retail employees can also use pocket skimmers to duplicate your card info when the card is out of your sight. Perhaps the biggest use of skimmers is at gas pumps where they grab your data as you pay at the pump.

 

As you can see, these activities are common everyday activities when credits cards are used. While many consider credit card theft the worst kind of identity theft, it’s really a low-level type of data theft. Most card issuers cover the fraud at no charge to customers. At most, your risk is around $50. The real loss to you is the time it takes to mop up the problem even if the amount of money lost is really small. Of bigger loss is hacked data which the hackers can deploy to very devastating use. When they hit your account, they can access your names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers (SSN), health care ID numbers, home addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data. With this information, the hackers can open new credit accounts, obtain government documents, and even commit medical identity theft. This is a growing threat that could use up health benefits or add false, potentially harmful data to victims’ medical records. Imagine an instance where someone uses your medical ID to get treatment and has the wrong blood type entered into your records. In an emergency, this sort of identity theft could be deadly. Can anything be worse than that?

Another common hack occurs when you willingly visit a malware-riddled website that could download a key-logger without your knowledge. The next time you do some online banking; the malware captures your password and sends it to the hackers. Alternatively, you might open a loaded email that appears legit but is really seeking to capture data like passwords and other info. These are often referred to as phishing scams because people are fishing for more of your personal data. As stated earlier, no one is immune from hackers. Because it is far more time consuming to correct full-blown identity theft, you can have some kind of protection in PrivacyMaxx.

PrivacyMaxx provides pro-active Identity Protection and Restoration that is guaranteed. To avoid frustrations, losses and headaches, start securing your future now and build a tidy income offering ID protection to your customers, friends, and family. PrivacyMaxx Family Identity Theft Protection Plan is available at TripleClicks.com. It can also be a great source of extra income for SFI Affiliates. Check it out, take out yours and get protected NOW!!!!!!