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This article is about Session Hijacking and the ways to prevent it. But before we proceed with it, let me first tell you what a Session is.The total time you devote to your internet activity is called a Session. A session starts as soon as you log into a website or a service and ends when you end the connection or shut down your computer system. All your internet activity details are stored in a session temporarily.

When a Session is a time when you are on the internet, Session hijacking means an attack over your internet session and the most common example one can give here is that, when you are using internet banking to check your bills or to do some transaction, an attacker can take over your internet session and hijack it. Session hijacking is usually done using web applications or browser sessions.A session hijacker can get complete access to your session and can do anything you could do on that website.

Lets learn about a few more examples of Session Hijacking so that you can avoid them.

Session Hijacking can be done in three different types

In the Active session hijacking, the attacker attacks your active internet connection, which means, hijacking your internet session while you are logged in and the other is passive session hijacking wherein the attacker monitors your session and steals the information exchanged between you and the server. In a hybrid hijack, the attackers monitor the network session and then attack as soon as they find the way.

Read:What are Cloud Security Challenges, Threats and Issues

Session Hijacking undoubtedly is one of the most common cyber-crime and is pretty scary too, but we can certainly prevent it with some simple measures. These attacks can really bring some terrible consequences for business organizations including data theft, financial losses, and much more.

As we can see most of the attacks happen through malicious links, the best way to prevent these attacks is to be watchful and check if a doubtful link is safe or not. The attackers use very catchy and tempting phrases like, click on this link to claim your prize or they may try to scare you by saying, Is this you in this video,to trick you but you should not click on any link until it is from a verified and legitimate sender.

Organizations can add certain encryptions to avoid such session hijacking on their official websites and accounts. Certificates like SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) safeguard your data online and also make your internet connectin secure enough for the attackers to enter.

HTTPS (Hypertext transfer protocol secure) is a better and more secure version of HTTP. Especially the websites that require login details. HTTPS makes sure that the website has the SSL and TLS certification throughout the session and ensures the increased security of data transfer. Also, popular web browsers like Google Chrome flag all the non-HTTPS websites as unsafe, and you get a warning message too.

Make sure that your PC and the operating system are updated regularly. Protect your PC from viruses by using good antivirus software. Also, keep updating and patching your web browsers on a regular basis.

Make sure that you log out of all your active internet sessions after you are done with the work there. While most of the banking websites end the session automatically at a set time, you should also log out of the shopping websites when not in use.

This is actually the best thing you can do to avoid session hijacking. Avoid using public WiFi and public computers, especially to access your banking websites or any website that requires your login credentials. If you have to use public WiFi, make a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to make sure that no one intrudes.

A session is said to be hijacked when an attacker intrudes in your session and takes full control. The attackers most of the time impersonate themselves like you and steal all your important data stored on the webserver.

Read: Internet Security article and tips for Windows users

Yes, a VPN established the internet connection through a private tunnel and hides your IP address. It also keeps your internet activity secret making it almost impossible for the attackers to intrude.

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What is Session Hijacking and How to Prevent It - TheWindowsClub