ONE SECURITY LESSON

Sometime ago I told @olujay that I would write about an antimalware software that I use for securing my company data… Well, considering the prompt for week 012, I guess I can just talk about it right now. It's not really a big deal though, but it has saved me lots of stress and worries from online phishing links. I've been a victim of online scam, especially during my early days as a digital marketer. I believed everything I saw on the Internet and it cost me a lot. I must admit I was really naive then, and considering the fact that there was no one to teach me, I learned my lesson the hard way. Fast forward to now, although those lessons were painful, they taught me a great deal of what it means to be security conscious.

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In 2016, I ventured into the online space in digital marketing, it was all new to me and I was very curious to know about every information I could get. I put in a lot of energy into a new gig that was selling then and made my first $1,000. It was my first sale, and my first big sale, but the things I didn't know cost me everything I earned. I saw an advertisement about trading with binary options, and the person doing the advertisement required that I click on a link to join their telegram group. I joined the group and they told me to install an app, and send them the codes that the app required to open. The app was working at first, but just at the registration stage. At a point in time I needed permission to access other apps on my phone and I gave the permission.

Later on the admins required I send some codes the app required, and when I did, I suddenly noticed the app crashed and I started receiving debit alerts. I wouldn't want to go into details about what happened next, but that was how I lost my $1000. Fast forward to this year, working as an ICT personnel I discovered the PC I was using was malware infected, as well as all the PCs in the company. Later I started seeing a lot of strange codes on the company's cpanel database which signifies an hacker attack. I reported the issue to my management and suggested an antimalware software to tackle the issue.

We were able to purchase the quickheal antivirus software which was about 55,000 naira per PC. Although I have a contact in the company that gives me the one I use personally with a 70% discount, antivirus has kept both me and my company safe to a very large extent. It automatically blocks malicious sites and software from opening and sometimes downloading on your device. You can also use it to run a quick and full scan on your device to determine if your device is malware infected, and the software will fix the threat with one click. I find it more useful than the normal windows antivirus software and so far it has given me the protection I need. But then again, getting to this point started with a very devastating loss for me, and it taught me to always ensure I'm careful online.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO DIGITAL LIFESTYLE'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 009