How Aussies Can Boost Their Online Security?

The number of Australians going online has expanded significantly each year. The smartphone revolution has further boosted these figures, allowing people from all age-groups and backgrounds easy access to online platforms.

According to a report published by Australian Communications and Media Authority, more than 10.7 million Australians browse the web at least twice a day.

Most go online to browse social networking websites, communicate with friends, or use it for banking and streaming purposes.

The Rise of Social Media and its Implications

Did you know that Aussies spend almost 25% of every hour on social networking websites. Social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc are incredibly popular among the Aussies.

However, most Aussies are not aware of the risks associated with sharing too much of their personal information online. The fact that terrorist organizations including ISIS and the Taliban use these platforms to compile intelligence reports for use in attacks.

Data snoopers and hackers also browse social media profiles in order to gather as much data as they can in order to use it for hacking or other vile purposes.

Aussies can now enhance their social media security by reading our 8 Tips to Staying Safe On Social Networking Sites.

Increase in Data Downloads and Risks Associated with It

ABS figures reveal that Australians have an enormous appetite for data. According to their figures, the total volume of data downloaded by Australians increased by 53% (to 1,034,959 terabytes) in a single year starting from June 2013 and ending in June 2014.

Much of this data represents movies, pictures, music and smartphone applications downloaded from unverified sources. Downloading from these sources may be financially beneficial, but they pose serious risks to Aussie users online.

The biggest sources for the spread of malware and viruses are websites boasting free online content. This means that whenever you download a movie, app or any other content from these websites, you’re also downloading malware and viruses along with them.

These are incredibly dangerous to your online security as they either infect your devices and destroy your data, or hide secretly in your device monitoring all of your online communications and sharing them to cyber criminals.

Online Communications and its Repercussions

The advent of the internet has pretty much revolutionized the communications industry and has practically converted the whole world into a singular global village. Communication services like WhatsApp, Gmail, Messenger, etc allow Aussies to communicate freely like never before.

As good as these services are, they also represent one of the biggest vectors for malware infections. Since people trust message and emails which seem to come from friends and co-workers, they end up forwarding said messages and emails containing malicious links to others, thus fooling them into downloading the malware hidden within them.

Even when you do not click on these malicious links, there are still ways to infect your devices via communication platforms. For instance, a few months ago, a security researcher by the name of Tyler Bohan discovered a critical bug in iOS devices allowing cyber-criminals to hack into other people’s devices via a single iMessage.

Online Streaming and its Dangers

A big part of the Australian audience prefers streaming Sports matches, popular TV shows and other similar content. The problem presented here is that many websites and services offering streaming content are extremely unreliable and are dangerous for one’s online privacy.

These platforms practice surveillance over one’s online activities. They are even known for downloading malicious programs into the viewer’s PC without him/her even knowing about it in the first place.

How to Overcome Such Risks?

Despite all the dangers and hurdles, there is still a way for Aussies to keep using these services without the risk of infecting their devices. To enhance your online security and privacy, you can subscribe to PureVPN’s premium service.

Once connected, you will be able to boost mobile security, and will also allow you to enjoy unlimited downloads and anonymous surfing all at the same time.

The importance of a service like PureVPN in this regard cannot be emphasized enough, since after all, precaution is always better than cure.