How Hackers And Cyber Scammers Hack Your Internet

Computer hackers and cyber scammers have a lot of tools at their disposal that can threaten your internet security, but these tips from cybersecurity experts can help protect your privacy.
Hackers Can Gain Access To Your Smart TV
Remember, your smart device is essentially a computer and it may not be as secure as you think. Anything in your house that’s connected to the Internet, from your smart fridge to your climate-control system, can be hacked. Experts have also shown how hackers can turn on a smart TV’s camera and spy on you.
When setting up smart devices, always change the default password. Most of these devices work from your wireless router, so password protecting your Wi-Fi can also help. Keep up with firmware updates; many devices will inform you when there’s an update available.
They Gain Access From Free Public Wi-Fi Networks
Even if you’re connected to a legitimate public network, some settings allow hackers to snoop on the session between your computer and the hot spot.
The best thing is to avoid public Wi-Fi if possible, especially unsecured networks without passwords. Instead, set up your smartphone as a secure hot spot or sign up for a VPN (virtual private network) service. If you must use public Wi-Fi, avoid financial transactions and consider using a browser extension like HTTPS Everywhere to encrypt your communications.
They Send Personal E‑mails 
Spear phishing or the act of sending targeted e-mails to get you to share financial information or passwords, can be very sophisticated. In the early days. You could detect spelling and punctuation errors, but today, it has really become an art.
Cyber scammers may call you by name, use your professional title, or even mention a project you’re working on.
The best way to spot phishing e-mails is by looking for incorrect or unusual URLs (hover over links to see the actual URL address), requests for personal information or money, suspicious attachments, or a message body that’s actually an image.
Never open email attachments unless you are confident of its source.
They Have Time
Hackers have programs that systematically test millions of possible passwords. They go to sleep and wake up in the morning, and the program is still going, testing one password combination after another.
To become more secure, instead of a password, try a passphrase. Use letters and characters from a phrase and include special characters, numbers, and upper- and lowercase letters.
Alternatively, you can consider a password manager that generates and remembers random, difficult-to-crack passwords.
They Sneak in While You Surf
A growing number of cyberattacks are arriving via “drive-by download”. You visit what looks like a perfectly harmless website, but in the background, you are redirected to a series of other sites that send you an attack.
A lot of the time, even the owner of the website doesn’t know the site has been compromised. Although search engines keep blacklists of known malicious sites, the bad sites are continuously changing.
The best way to outsmart hackers and scammers is to make sure you install all available updates to your browser, or use a browser that automatically updates, like Firefox.