More than 3.5 billion people use the Internet every day. In Nigeria, over 55.8 million are online daily. We apply for jobs online, we play games online, we chat online, we do business online, we do banking transactions online, we shop online, and we go online to read our mails.
However, do you know your Virtual Life (your online activities) is not safe? In 2013 alone, over $550 was stolen according to the report from the FBI and Interpol. To make matters worse, over 93 per cent of all internet related theft was done by a new kind of threat? It’s called a keylogger.
"Keylogging is the process used by cyber criminals to re login to your own computer and plant a malicious programme that copies all your keystroke at keyboard level rendering antivirus dead. What this means is that when you visit your bank website and type in your username and your password it is seen by a keylogger.
Even bank passwords that you think are encrypted are revealed and seen by the keylogger. In fact, the recent report by Matthew J Schwazt on July 22, 2014 showed that criminals were able to hack into 34 banks in 4 different countries. The sad part is that over 16 banks in Switzerland were attacked. These are banks considered to be the most secure financial institutions in the world. Please note also that these banks use a token. The attack is not limited to banks in Switzerland, Japan, Germany and United States. Nigerian banks too have been attacked." The Punch says.
Not only is your bank account details unsafe, your mail, your facebook and twitter accounts can also be accessed by a keylogger. He'll be able your chat messages the same way you will login without any hindrance and use your details to impersonate you.
Companies too are at risk. Imagine what damage can be done to companies if your incoming and outgoing emails are hacked, if your entire financial and trading accounts are in the hands of keyloggers how will that make you feel?
CNN describe keylogging as the 21st century version of a bank robbery. Would you fold your hands and allow a keylogger to steal away your happiness and that of your loved ones? Imagine if your retirement funds are all swept off in one day.
Christmas is a season for giving but it is also a season for scamming meaning more people will be prone to cyber attack. From the Nigerian Communications Commission report, over 130 million active mobile phones users are in Nigeria. This increases the need for online activities therefore exposure to keyloggers.
Fortunately, there are several ways to stop keyloggers from stealing your passwords, one way is to scramble your input when typing sensitive information, such as account names or passwords, by typing gibberish letters into the relevant field and then using the mouse to highlight and replace them with the proper characters.
For example, if you are typing the password "myemail," you might type "ghi," then highlight those letters and replace them with "my"; then type "pwfb" and replace it with "em," proceeding until you have written the entire password.
You can also mask sensitive typing by alternating regularly between text fields, using the mouse or "Tab" key. Type in part of a user name; then tab to the page's search field and type some gibberish before returning to complete the user field. This will make it difficult for the hacker who reads the keylogger to determine what keystrokes are important.
Another great solution is to get an anti-keylogging software. A good example according to Emeka Anaeto, a writer for Punch newspaper on bank issues is CW7 Military Grade 256 BIT Keystroke Encryption Software. The videos demonstrating the solution and dangers can be seen on www.cwacybersecurity.com/nolimitng
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