Ensuring online protection is necessary in today’s world. Especially when the major population of the world has internet access. There is nothing wrong with using the internet, but the threats that come along with it need to be mitigated.
The rise of cybersecurity is only because of the increasing online threats, thus demanding better protection online. To avoid any unlikely situation, there are many tools that you can use to safeguard yourself.
These tools can be anything. It can be an anti-virus program, or you might be able to avail risk free trial of ExpressVPN, or it can be something more complex and personalized. All these tools are important, but more on that later.
First, let’s explore what the stats say about online protection.
Also check out human firewall as well.
Cybersecurity Statistics
With each passing day, the masses are becoming more and more aware of their privacy and online security threats. Because of that, the global cybersecurity market has seen astronomical growth over the past years.
In 2016, the market was valued at around $83 billion, with chances of stable growth. By 2021, this number rose significantly, and by the end of the year, the market was worth almost $140 billion dollars.
This doesn’t stop here. By 2027, this number will be around $300 billion, an impressive compound annual growth rate. (See all the stats here)
As much as cybersecurity has allowed us to be at ease, cyber crimes are increasing at an alarming rate. Banks, organizations, and even common people are the target of hackers, targeting them with ill intentions to steal or compromise their information.
51% of the companies, as per a report, pay ransom to hackers after a ransomware attack. The post-Covid on-screen practices have increased the chances of online frauds and hacks, and hackers are taking maximum advantage of that. This brings us to the idea that we must ensure our online protection.
Top 6 Cybersecurity Tools
Cybersecurity is unavoidable if you care for your data and information. Here are the top 6 cybersecurity tools that you must use.
VPN
One of the easiest ways to make your online journey seamlessly secure is to use a VPN. A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a program that hides your IP Address and masks it – so that whenever you are surfing online, your identity is hidden and never revealed.
It also allows you to connect to the network of another location, virtually locating you in that specific area and unblocking all the access to the regional websites and content. If you use the public internet, there is no way you shouldn’t be using a good VPN such as ExpressVPN (avail risk free trial of ExpressVPN here). Security must be the ultimate priority.
Firewalls & Anti-Virus Software
Anti-virus and firewall software tools are among the most popular tools. If you have data or information stored on your computer or smartphone, these tools are a must-have for you. Hundreds of thousands of viruses are created every day with the intention to compromise data stored on your hard drive.
To avoid getting hacked or your data encrypted for ransomware, it is critical for you to use a credible firewall or anti-virus software. These take care of all the outgoing and incoming packets that are scanned and ensure no malicious program resides on your drive.
Network Monitoring Tools
Not very common with households, network monitoring tools are of utmost importance for enterprise organizations with thousands of terabytes of data to guard. These tools continuously monitor all incoming and outgoing requests and filter them as per the organizational guidelines.
These tools are set up in multiple organizations around the globe and are helping the world progress towards a better and safer society.
Password Manager
Are you an ordinary internet user who uses the same password for multiple sites? Well, you are not alone. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe use the same passwords across multiple sites. The main reason is that they cannot remember their passwords.
To solve this issue, password managers present a pretty easy and viable solution. A password manager is a tool or a software program where you can keep your passwords safe, and instead of remembering them, just recall them when necessary. These are secure software tools that store your passwords in encrypted form so that you are never compromised.
Data Breach Scanner
How do you know if your data has been compromised? Well, there is no way to physically identify that your computer or organization has had a data breach. However, there are data breach scanners with penetration testing that are now available which shows the information that might be available online.
The scary part is that you don’t want your data to be sold on the dark web. It is the most dangerous place on the internet to be, and you must take all the measures to be there. Have I Been Pwned? is a platform that tells the users about everything that might be uploaded online. Enter your details and take the measures accordingly.
Disk Encryption
What if all the data stored locally on your drive gets encrypted? And now, when you try to access it, there is just gibberish and nothing else? You have searched everywhere on the internet, and there is no remedy, and then you find a disk encryption tool.
There is no way to undo what has happened, but the next time, you have every chance to avoid such circumstances. A ransomware attack is a known cyberattack worldwide that encrypts the data on the drive, and all this is irreversible. However, it is very much possible to avoid this by using a good encryption tool.
Takeaway
With growing online insecurity and confusion, there are several email security and cybersecurity tools that can protect the information. By using the tools that we have discussed today, you can ensure a seamless and carefree online experience.