Hackers are getting smarter, but these 2 easy steps can protect you
Sponsored: Whether you’re shopping, banking or just generally browsing online criminals are finding increasingly clever ways to target you, many of which aren’t immediately obvious.
Jump on over to the latest Living FTC Report and you’ll see crooks have jumped on people’s COVID fears, creating increasingly sophisticated scams to steal unaware web surfers’ bank details using phishing messages masquerading as coming from the NHS and GPs. At its peak in 2020 McAfee labs detected over 113,000 malicious URLs referencing COVID-19 attempting to do just this.
Even if you’re web savvy enough to avoid these there are all manner of other privacy and security threats to be aware of. Criminals have started using clever tactics to syphon data from things like public WiFi spots. This is a key reason passwordmanager.com’s latest research suggests a staggering 86% of people use passwords that have already been leaked in data breaches.
This means that at times, even if you’ve done nothing wrong criminals may already have compromised some of your accounts and data.
But before you despair, be aware McAfee’s created a quick and easy way for any web citizen to protect themselves in two easy steps using its super secure LiveSafe Premium Plus service.
Get McAfee LiveSafe Premium Plus now
Discovering your protection score
After subscribing, you’ll be able to take advantage of its full suite of security services, but we’d recommend using McAfee’s industry-first Protection Score to begin with.
Like any risk, the first stage to dealing with it requires you to find out the extent of the problem and identify any potential issues and weaknesses, and that’s exactly what the Protection Score does. Using McAfee’s custom technology the service measures the health of your online security. This includes looking for repeated bad habits, checking if any of your passwords could be weak or vulnerable and much, much more.
A higher score indicates you are more secure, offering those with good cyber hygiene peace of mind. But where there are potential issues, the service provides guided steps to help fix weak spots and improve your score.
Bank, shop and browse online confidently on all devices
The suggestions in turn help you take full advantage of LiveSafe Premium Plus’ features, which are designed to holistically protect you regardless of what type of device you’re using.
Highlights on offer include:
- McAfee’s robust password manager: This is a key feature that’ll make it quick and easy for you to use complex, harder to hack bespoke passwords online. It works by auto generating and storing complex passwords which are then auto-filled on any device you’re using with the service installed. This makes it quick and easy to access things like your bank account, or social media across devices without having to remember complex passwords.
- McAfee’s secure VPN: A virtual private network (VPN) may sound weird, but it’s one of the best ways to protect your personal information and privacy online, especially when using public WiFi. It works by using McAfee’s infrastructure to turn any network you connect to into a private connection. The VPN then protects your data from prying eyes using bank-grade encryption, ensuring you can access sensitive areas, like your finances, worry free.
- URL alerts: The problem with the internet is that no matter how clever you are, you’re still only one accidental mistake away from potentially clicking a malware laced URL. This is why hackers spend so much time creating legitimate looking messages designed to make you do just this. LiveSafe Premium Plus helps protect you from this by colour-coding any links on search results and social media pages that could be potentially dangerous, making them easy to spot and avoid. On the off chance you do mis-click the service will alert you regarding any suspicious downloads or PC security risks.
- Industry leading anti-virus: In the event a hacker does successfully get you to click a dodgy link McAfee’s anti-virus will make short work of it. As well as alerting you about potential malware the service will scan and remove any dodgy files it detects on any PC, phone or tablet protected with LiveSafe Premium Plus. Thanks to clever coding, the software is also as unobtrusive as possible and will only visibly activate when it needs to, ensuring you don’t have to trade performance for security.
- McAfee’s identity monitoring: Helps you keep your personal info safe. Get 24/7 monitoring of the most critical details of your life, from bank account and credit card numbers to your email addresses, government IDs, and more. Seconds count when your personal info is found online. If we find your data is on the dark web, you’ll be alerted an average of 10 months before our competitors, so you can take action before your personal info ends up in the wrong hands.
It’s this full suite of services that make LiveSafe Premium Plus one of the fastest and easiest ways to protect yourself online.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
