Do you consider yourself cyber-literate? Have you been so immersed in the online life that you can\u2019t tell what\u2019s real and what\u2019s fake?<\/p>\n
We recently decided to test our readers cyber-literacy levels (give us a break, we cannot sit and just analyse threats forever!) only to find out that the number of what we would define as truly \u201cliterate\u201d web users is surprisingly small.<\/p>\n
For example, if we were to offer 100 of you, four screenshots of Facebook home page to choose the one you feel safe enough to log in to. According to our research, only 24 of you would pick the right one. The remaining 76 users will gladly choose a phishing page<\/a> and thus give away their credentials to cyber-criminals \u2013 and that\u2019s just one sample question!<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/kaspersky\/status\/613332502338490368\/photo\/1<\/p>\n Of course, we should note that the ability to tell a genuine web page from a fake one or a legitimate email from a spam message is not the only criteria to define cyber-literacy. A cyber-literate user possesses a variety of good habits. For example, downloading unknown files from murky web pages is a bad habit, whereas checking the operating system for vulnerabilities and updating it regularly<\/a> in order to repel viruses is a good habit.<\/p>\n Backing up your data is a good habit, whereas disclosing too much information on social networks can be a bad habit. It\u2019s a bad habit to use weak passwords<\/a>, whereas installing new apps or software without a second thought, not even looking at their license agreements or access rights can be even worse. Cyber-literacy is the basics of information security, which if followed correctly, might protect your data, privacy, money and even your device.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/kaspersky\/status\/636267416364974081\/photo\/1<\/p>\n In a real world, we all, to various extent, follow the laws of self-preservation. \u00a0For instance, you would not end up in a ghetto in the dead of night, or give your credit card PIN number to anyone who happened to ask. \u00a0You\u2019d also not leave your key sticking out of the keyhole of your front door. Those habits are as natural as an ability to write or read, and, apart from some rare exceptions, the majority of people act out of instinct when making these security decisions.<\/p>\n