You see a message on your screen showing an error, you can't log into your computer and tons of virus warnings are popping up. Unfortuanately you've been hacked! Someone is trying to gain personal access to your computer in order to gain information about you or steal money from you! Cyber attacks have been a serious threat to society and the threat keeps increasing day by day. As we continue to ignore these threats, we become less protected from preventing cyber attacks.



So what exactly are cyber attacks? Basically, someone had gained access to your computer or personal electronic device and is trying to gain admin priveleges in order to gain your personal information. An example could be how the company Equifax recently experienced a cyber attack. A group of hackers were able to gain many personal information from the users of Equifax and stole all the money from their accounts. Many were devastated by this event and cyber attacks can cause even more dangerous events.

There are multiple different actions you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of cyber attacks. You can install, use and regularly update antivirus and antispyware software, use a firewall for your Internet connection, download and install software updates for your operating systems and applications, make backup copies of important data and information, control physical access to your computers and network components, secure your Wi-Fi networks; make sure it is secure and hidden, and regularly change passwords.

Congrats! You finished Lesson 3!