It is a sad truth that, as technology continues to advance, so too do the ways by which criminals are able to access and make use of our personal information and financial resources. Logging on to the net these days, particularly if we have to do so through a public connection, is a riskier proposition than it ought to be. Fortunately, there are many ways to protect yourself from a cyber attack and keep yourself safe at all times. Here are some tips from our experts to avoid a cyber attack entirely:

Beware Of Unknown Communications

Some easy ways to avoid cyber attacks include making sure that you never click a link in an email if you are not 100 percent sure of the trustworthiness of the person or company who sent it and never to open an attachment in the same situation. It is vital to avoid giving out personal information including passwords, usernames and PIN codes over the telephone or through voice chat or web chat. A legitimate customer support person will almost never ask you for this information. If someone does ask you for it, verify their identity by contacting the company or individual directly through a trusted medium.

Be Sure To Set Up Your Virtual Walls

Make sure your passwords are as safe as possible; most experts will recommend not using real words or any easily found information like your cat’s name or your boyfriend’s birthdate in a password and never repeating a password on two different accounts. It is also very important not to share your password with anyone or store it on your computer where it can be accessed through a cyber attack. Old fashioned pen and paper is a better storage method if you really must write it down.

Invest in a Virtual Private Network

One of the best ways to ensure that you are safe from a cyber attack is to make it much too difficult for an attacker to access your data. Making the risk greater than the potential reward is an excellent way to deter a cyber attacker from feeling inclined to target you. You can do this by investing in a Virtual Private Network, or VPN. This is a service that was originally designed by a team of experts that included Microsoft itself and can ensure that all your browsing on the internet is completely secure and anonymous. It encrypts all your data, routes it through servers in remote locations and changes your IP address, all of which makes you very difficult for a cyber attacker to pin down.

To help you with this last suggestion, our experts performed an independent review of the VPN providers available and picked the best equipped to keep you safe from a cyber attack:

Rank	Provider	Starting Price	MoneyBack	Visit Website
	ExpressVPN	$6.67/month	30 Days
2	VyprVPN	$14.95/month	7 Days
3	IPVanish	$10.00/month	7 Days
4	Hidemyass	$6.55/month	30 Days
5	StrongVPN	$21/ 3 Months	7 Days