In this blog we have an entire section of articles to help people protect their computer, but every time we have to fight with some false beliefs and stories about cyber security that mislead the speeches and make the less experienced people wrong. In some cases, these are IT security guides which are also written by authoritative newspapers and blogs, but which are absolutely not true .
Taking inspiration from some articles of wired and lifehacker, we see some legends of computer security on the internet, denied according to some of the major computer experts.
READ ALSO: 10 common mistakes in computer care to avoid
1) No hacker would come to attack me who am nobody
What says that if a normal person cannot be a target of hacker attack because he has nothing to hide, it is absolutely a wrong assumption.
It is true, on the one hand, that there are so many internet users to consider the possibility of receiving cyber attacks on their PC not so likely, but it is also true that hackers operate through automatic bots that scan the network in search of vulnerable computers.
The most common threats are not specific, but at the internet level and every computer can be good for a hacker, even if without personal data.
Each device, or its storage space, is potentially useful for making attacks or for storing illegal data.
The computers of a botnet, called zombies, are used for attacks against denial-of-service coordinates to make websites no longer accessible.
Furthermore, any personal or financial information is valuable for a potential identity thief so mine or any other person's can also be useful in creating a false identity to be used for illegal activities.
2) An antivirus is not needed if I don't do anything risky
This is still a way of reasoning for many people who think they are so good at using the internet and computers that they don't need antivirus software to protect themselves.
The fact is that the security of a computer does not depend only on one's skills and habits, but also on those of others.
Malware in general are everywhere and can even be placed on websites considered unassailable as Youtube or Facebook.
Anyone viewing an infected page on the internet can be infected with a virus if they don't have antivirus software that protects it.
Virus protection may not be enough, but it is certainly necessary.
In another article, the explanation of how a virus or malware enters the computer and how it infects the pc
3) By installing an antivirus and a firewall you are 100% protected
This is the opposite of the previous point.
If it is not true that you can do without an antivirus even if very good with your computer, it is equally false that with an antivirus, perhaps coupled with a firewall, you can be sure that you will never be infected and affected by infections and malware.
To learn more I suggest reading two other articles:
- Basic rules and tools for computer security
- Online security guide against hackers, phishing and cyber criminals
4) Services such as Tor or VPNs can make us completely anonymous or untraceable on the internet .
In another article, we saw that online privacy is guaranteed with TOR, which is true in theory, but not in practice.
This is not a real hoax, TOR is actually also used by hackers to avoid getting caught in their illegal activities.
Tor offers full anonymity from companies that collect data, from the telephone company and even from governments while the VPN encrypts all traffic in order to keep all communication on the Internet safe.
Services such as Tor and or VPNs for surfing while remaining anonymous are ideal for protecting identity, but they are not foolproof.
However, the problem is not in the tool, but in who uses it.
It is really difficult to have the full guarantee of being completely anonymous online and not leaving any traces of yourself.
TOR requires certain technical requirements for which, for example, already if you use an unsecured wifi connection or if you do not use a VPN or if you surf from a computer with programs that send unprotected data (plugins and browser extensions), which do not pass by TOR, it can be found from any police investigation.
Furthermore it cannot be guaranteed that even by using TOR
5) The Incognito mode of browsers protects privacy
Browsers 'Incognito mode can protect users' privacy only from other people who use that computer.
However, it is not a privacy tool that protects the internet connection from the outside, from advertising agencies, from monitoring by telephone companies or the websites themselves.
The sites we visit can read our IP address and know who we are and where we come from even in unknown mode.
