Whether we are using the Internet for work, leisure or shopping we must be cautious. Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for new victims with whom they can make a profit. Most users want to use the Internet for shopping, social networking, banking, and online gaming. For this reason, to feel safe, Internet users need tools to check doubtful files and also that their account credentials have not been leaked. In this article we are going to learn about a series of free tools to improve your Internet security.
Free tools to improve your security
Today there are several totally free tools that are responsible for carrying out different actions related to security, which will help us to be somewhat safer and more protected when we browse the Internet, when we log in to a certain service with our user credentials or if we want to send an encrypted message. Below, you will see some of the main free tools that we can use.
VirusTotal
One of the most popular online tools that can help improve your security is VirusTotal, which you can access from this link. Sometimes we have to download a file or software from unofficial or little-known websites. In this regard, any cybercriminal can infect software with any type of malware that can damage the security of our computer.
VirusTotal offers us an online tool through our browser that scans web links or files and then provides a complete diagnosis. Simply selecting “Choose file” will scan that file through queries with numerous antivirus and security companies. This is an example of scanning a file that has no suspicious activity.
You may be interested in how to remove malware with Windows Defender.
Have I been pwned?
Another tool to improve your security is have I been pwned? which you can access from here. On some occasion you may have wondered if your account could have been hacked or is currently in danger. This page scans major websites, online services, and databases to then show you if your account has had a data breach.
You have to be vigilant because big breaches sometimes happen where the login credentials of thousands or millions of personal accounts are stolen.
An easy way to find out is through have I been pwned? which works by adding the account we want to check and pressing the pwned? button. After verification, you will be able to see if your account is at risk or if it has already been involved in a breach.
pgp tool
PGP Tool can be defined as a fast and simple encryption tool that allows you to generate, encrypt and decrypt messages online. Thanks to its encryption, you can make sure that your messages are protected. If you want to use it you can do it through this link. This tool uses PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) technology, with a public key and a private key. On the one hand, a public key encrypts messages and files, and on the other hand, we have private keys that decrypt said encrypted files.
With PGP Tool you start by generating a key pair. One is public and the other is private which will allow you to encrypt and decrypt files and messages. In order for there to be a communication between two people with PGP, it is absolutely necessary that they exchange public keys. Once we’ve exchanged the public keys, we’ll need to encrypt the message with the recipient’s public key, and the recipient will decrypt it with their private key.
In the event that you want to verify the authenticity of the message, you can also do so by signing the message with your private key, so that the recipient uses the associated public key to verify the identity correctly.
ToSDR (Unread Terms of Service)
Another very interesting tool to improve your security is ToSDR, which you can access from this link. The terms of service or conditions, depending on the name used on that website, are the ones that establish the rules and regulations that are implemented on that page.
The big problem with terms of services is that they are often long, difficult to read and located in an inaccessible place. Therefore it is quite common to read it partially or even not at all. Thanks to ToSDR you can know if the web page you are visiting has terms with which you do not agree.
SSL Enforcer KB Extension
If you look at the URL of your browser, for greater security you should see that it begins with HTTPS at the beginning. This is indicating to us that this web page has an SSL certificate and that it also encrypts all the data packets that enter and leave the website. Thanks to data encryption, if cybercriminals steal data packets they will be useless.
Many web pages already apply HTTPS by default, but there are still some sites that do not implement this protocol. If you want to make sure you only browse safe websites, install the extension of KB SSL Enforcer. You are going to come across an open source browser extension that is going to implement secure connections every time you enter a web page. In the event that a website does not have HTTPS and you are on a public WiFi network, then you should use a VPN to protect data encryption and prevent them from capturing information, however, today the vast majority of websites have HTTPS .
Finally, thanks to these free tools that we have proposed, you will be able to substantially improve your security.
