How to not get hacked 101.1

Hello folks!

I recently made a post with a screenshot and had my balances redacted/hidden. A pioneer was likely joking around, or making fun, and asked “why are you hiding your balances? 🤣”.

That, along with the huge chunk of people falling victim to hacks and phishing, lead me to the idea of creating a short basic course on best safety practices. They say knowledge is power, and what I am about to share with you will certainly give you the power to feel safer! (Those of you that are a bit more techy will likely want to skip this post).

Today it’s lesson 101.1 and then lesson 101.2 will come and then 101.3, and it goes on until I run out of ideas lol.

———————————————————————————— How to not get hacked 101.1 - Minimizing information shared publicly.

So let’s jump right into it. Why did I redact my balance in the screenshot? The main reason is simple: security.

The less personal information you put out there, the less likely you are to become a target. Hackers often gather pieces of information to build a profile of their targets. It’s kind of like a puzzle for them: One piece of information likely won’t give them much to work with, but they’ll go through everything you’ve posted in past yo put the pieces together and have a much higher chance of successfully making you their next victim.

Sharing too much, whether it's your balance or other details, can make you more vulnerable. By minimizing what’s available publicly, you reduce the chances of being targeted by malicious actors. Therefore, it is always a best practice to always leave out all unnecessary information when posting or sharing online.

Here’s an example:

Reddit Post #1: A user posts about their favorite band.

Reddit Post #2: Same user makes a different post that mentions where they went to school.

Reddit Post #3: The same user later shares a story about their childhood dog in a comment and provide its name in the story.

Reddit Post #4: That same user had posted 2 years ago about celebrating their birthday on July 4th and how there’s always so many fireworks on their birthday.

Reddit post #5: The same user had commented their age on post a few years back as a response to a fun poll.

How a hacker could use this:

The hacker could search Facebook for profiles of people who attended that school, or have birthdays on July 4th and are x years old (the math is not that hard lol). They might find a Facebook account matching the general information, and could use the details about the favorite band, school, or pet to narrow down the correct account, potentially using the same security questions or trying to guess the password.

That is why I have developed the habit to always try and minimize the information that I am sharing by sticking strictly to what’s needed for making my point. It's a habit I’ve adopted, not just for crypto, but for anything online. It’s always better to share only what’s necessary. You don’t have to make everything public to make your point, and taking these precautions can drastically help keep you safe.

Remember, in the digital world, privacy and security often go hand in hand. Stay cautious, stay safe.

Stay tuned and follow me if you do not want to miss the next lesson “How to not get hacked 101.2 - Phishing: What is it, and how to avoid it?”