Have you been hacked? Maybe not yet but you don't need to wait until you are hacked before you protect yourself and learn how to stay safe online without giving hackers any breathing space.

In this post, I will teach you what not to do and what to do to protect your self and all your online accounts from being hacked in any way and trust me hacking is becoming much easier these days that is why you must learn how to protect yourself.

Protecting your online business or other online accounts is no longer about using a strong password as suggested earlier because your password can still be traced without you knowing, I will tell you how later.



Last time I saw on the news how some guys hacked a company and defrauded them thousands of dollars but your own case might not be money but what about your Facebook account or other online accounts.

Less than 1 month ago I have helped at least 2 of my friends to recover their facebook hacked account and if you have experienced such thing you will be surprised how this guy gained access to your account without having the login details but trust me your login details can be obtained in so many ways if you are not careful.

How you Login details can be obtained illegally

Before guiding you on how to stay safe online and Avoid being hacked, I will like to first explain to you how your online account can be hacked through various means.

Sincerely these guys don't have your username or your password and yet they are able to gain access to your account, the biggest question right now is how?

A few years ago, someone threatened to hack my online account if I don't pay some amount of dollars and I have been hacked many years ago so I know how painful it can be when your account is hacked.

Downloads from unreliable & untrusted source

Are you the type who regularly looks for free stuff online even when you know they are not for free? if the answer is yes then hacking your account is simple because most of the paid software and games being offered online for free has been injected with malware and all sorts of hacking tools that will enable them to monitor your online activities including the buttons you click on your keyboard which helps them find your account and other sensitive informations.

Clicking on Links and opening an Attachments from unrecognized sender

The new method being used by many hackers is to send a link or an attachment with a good title that will attract you to open the mail and probably click on their link that will automatically install spyware/malware on your computer that will enable them to monitor whatever you do without your knowledge.

Online videos

Some hackers will sent you something that looks like a video and ask you to click it to watch the video without knowing that is a malware that overrides the security settings of your computer with or without your permission with the purpose of installing their hacking tools on your system that will monitor your activities and provide them the information they need to hack your accounts.

How to stay safe online and Avoid being hacked

I have explained few ways your online account can be compromised but the big question which is the main reason why am writing this is how to stay safe online and Avoid being hacked?

If you want to stay safe then you must follow these steps.

Avoiding Downloading any software or games from untrusted sites

My system usually got infected through this means until I know better and apart from hacking your account the bad guys can install malware on your system and instruct it to do other things for them without your permission, they can mess up your browsers, and add redirection loops etc.

Avoid downloading from untrusted downloads site if you want to stay safe or risk your system being hacked.

You must Install Antivirus on your System

Having good Antivirus on your computer is a must because they can save you from hackers, they often monitor your system and notifies you when your action might be dangerous including scanning any software or games you wish to install.

A few years ago some sent a virus to me in form of an attachment and unknowingly I downloaded it but when I tried to open it my Antivirus immediately notified me that the attachment am about to open might be harmful to my system and that is how I canceled the process and deleted it from my system.

How to know when you received an email that might contain virus

This question is very important and as well simple to answer with my experience, any email you received telling you that you have a parcel asking you to open an attachment for more details is a virus unless you know more about the sender and the parcel in question if not delete it immediately.

They might as well tell you that your parcel failed to be delivered to you and then ask you to click their phishing link or attachment just to extract sensitive information they can use to hack your account pls delete such mail at once.

Don't open or click any link sent to you from an unknown sender to be on a safer side, if they want, let them explain in plain text and not asking you to click on any link or to download and open any attachment.

Don't watch any video or click on images sent through WhatsApp or Facebook by someone you don't know, yes I said so because these guys can steal your information easily through such means.

I blocked many people on WhatsApp and Facebook without a single word to them and their offense is that they keep sending unnecessary images, videos and even text asking me to share to others without a single "Hi, Hello" from them which means I don't even know them and yet they keep sending images and videos to me without even caring to know who I am.

Be careful when you received an attachment, images or video files from someone who has not even chatted with you for once and if you ask me there is no need keeping those people on your list.

Beware of fake bank emails

Sometimes stealing your money is the main target of the hacker and the best way to do it is to pretend to be your bank by sending a mail with your bank logo and banners which they after tell you that you ATM has been deactivated to enable it click the following link.

When you receive this kind of mail simply delete it and head straight to your bank for more details but if you want to know if the mail is genuine then this post Identify Fake Bank Alert mail from scammers (419) will help you.

Always use a strong and memorable password

Using a strong password that you can easily remember is very important in all your online accounts though you shouldn't use one password for all your online account for security reasons.

A strong online password will be at least 8 digits long, will contain symbols, and also low and uppercase letters, you can as well use some auto-generated password to do this but you can do it yourself instead.

Following all the guides above will surely protect you from hackers but if you still have more questions to ask or to contribute to this post then don't hesitate to join the conversation.