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Hack-proof your life with these easy tips

Cape Town - As cyber criminals continue to attack devices in order to gain valuable financial information, users are required to up their security strategy.

However, recent breaches such as the nude celebrity photo scandal that compromised iCloud accounts have thrown new light on the security of storing content in the internet could.

Apple rejected criticism that the breaches were the result of an attack on its system, rather saying that specific accounts were targeted.

"Hackers tend to go after the weaker link in the secure chain and that’s the user," said Riaan Swart, founder and director of Solv, an IT concierge company.

"We tend to use birthdays, pet names and very basic number sets as passwords: These are all very easy for hackers to crack. The bottom line is that as consumers and users of technology we need to be more vigilant around security; don't leave your phone lying around and ensure that your phone lock pin is a bit more complex than 1234," he added.

He offers some useful tips to hack-proof your life:

Password protect yourself:

- Choose good (read difficult) passwords, use capital and small letters, use numbers in between letters and use special characters such as "&"; "%"; "$"; "#"; "@"; "*".
- Don't use same password on more than one website.
- Don't write your password on a sticky note on your desk (it happens), or store it on your phone or on your computer. If you're going to save your passwords on your computer, don't call the file or folder passwords, give it a different name and only in a "code" that you would understand.

Set up two-step verification:

- This acts as a second layer of authentication for when you reset you password.
Over and above getting an e-mail alert, you are sent an SMS to verify changes. The SMS doesn't cost a cent and in the long run could save you a lot of stress and hassle.
- Google, Gmail, Dropbox, Microsoft, Facebook and a host of other sites offer this security setup, but not a lot of people use it.

Secure your own computer or notebook:

- Ensure all software is up to date.
- Ensure you have Antivirus software installed (max R400 per year) and that you constantly keep it up to date.
- Don't open unknown e-mail attachments or click links in any emails that you receive from people that you do not know. Rather delete it.

David Jacoby from Kaspersky Lab gives some tips for creating secure passwords and watch the YouTube video to see our News24 Live host sing.

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