4 Tips to Stay Safe Online

Avoid using short and easy passwords
Avoid using a password that would be within normal password dictionaries like using permutations of common words. Edward Snowden, in an interview at LastWeekTonight, stated that “bad passwords are one of the easiest way to compromise a system for somebody who has a very common eight character password it can literally take less than second for a computer to go through the possibilities and pull that password out”. However, it is difficult to remember a password that has 13 characters with exclamation points, numbers, lowercase and uppercase letters. The best way is to use “pass phrases”, long phrase that can be remembered and at the same it is hard to be predicted. For example, JaneAustenis100%SMART.
Turn off tracking
Third-party websites can track your online behavior and collect/share your information without your knowledge. You can protect yourself by using Cookiecontroller or by turning off this feature from your browser’s settings.
Do not click on pop-up windows
Once you click a pop-up window you will be vulnerable to hacking. Martin Borrett, in an article in The Independent, stated that “When you are shopping online for instance, and get an add pop up, clicking and closing on one of those might actually install a malicious piece of code on your machine”.
Pop-up windows usually expose you to ransomware, a specific type of malicious code that hold you to ransom, this malware can encrypt your data and the only way to unlock it is by paying the ransom.
Install an anti-virus software
Borrett said that “It’s hard to survive without current up to date anti-virus software on your machine. You can’t be an expert on all of these sites, you need some protection. This would be like wearing a seat belt in your car”.
 
References:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/5-ways-to-protect-yourself-online-a6834636.html