How To Protect Yourself from being hacked !!
Those are just the big ones that get reported in the news. Millions take place every year that are not reported. Despite that, the public is suffering from "security breach fatigue." No one seems to care anymore. As the public becomes "dulled" to the importance of these breaches, they are more likely to ignore some basic measures to protect their systems.
As someone responsible for my share of "breaches," I would like to offer you some simple ways that you prevent yourself from becoming a victim of these types of hacks. Keep in mind that nothing will protect you 100% from all attacks. The only way to assure that is to take your machine offline, and no one wants to do that.
There so many ways to attack an online computer that if someone is determined to hack you, and they have the knowledge and skills, they are likely to get in. What you can do, though, is make it as difficult as possible for the random fly-by hacker to get into your system and instead target their efforts to someone who is much easier to victimize.
One of the first things you need to understand is that hackers are constantly scanning the world for vulnerable systems. They simply write a little program or script to scan every IP address on the planet looking for a particular known vulnerability or two. When they find that your system has that vulnerability, then they begin the attack. If your system doesn't come up on their radar, they will simply pass you by and look at the next online computer.
Here are few common sense measures to keep yourself from being hacked. I've tried to arrange them from the most basic to the more advanced. Obviously, the more of these measures your implement, the less the chance that you will be hacked.
Note: I use the term "malware" here to indicate any type of bad (malicious) software. This includes viruses, trojans, worms, adware, rootkits, etc. Rather than trying to make distinctions between each of these types of software, I prefer the all-encompassing term malware.
Step 1 Use Stronger Passwords
Password are your first line of defense in this digital war between hackers and the potential victims. If I can get your password, the rest is easy. Most people use simple-to-crack passwords that anyone of my ilk could decipher in minutes or hours at most. Rather than go into great lengths here about how to protect your password, I direct your attention to my recently posted article on creating stronger passwords.

"I<3mtnb1K1ng&H1k1ng" may not be an impossible passphrase to crack, but it's definitely harder.Image via Shutterstock
Step 2Use Two-Factor Authentication
Nearly all computers and all systems (home security systems, car lock, garage door opener, iCloud, etc.) require a username and password to authenticate. To authenticate means to prove who you are. More secure systems are now using two-factor authentication, the first factor being your password.
Authentication factors are generally broken down into three categories;
What you know (passwords)
What you have
What you are (biometrics)
By requiring a second authentication factor, you can make it MUCH harder for me to hack your system. Cracking passwords, no matter how complex, can ALWAYS be cracked given enough time and resources. By requiring a second factor such as your fingerprint, though, it makes it much more difficult for hackers. Impersonating your fingerprint is not impossible, but far more difficult than cracking your password.
Other potential two-factor authentication systems that many companies and military organizations are using is some type of token (something I have). This is usually some smart card that identifies the user. Although neither method is perfect, the combination makes you much safer from hackers like me.
Step 3 Never, Ever Click on a Suspicious Link