Don’t Let An “Oops” Happen To You
It doesn’t take much these days. One click can have lasting effects for days, months or even years afterwards. If you’re unsure about something, it’s best to trust your gut. Better to be safe than sorry!
NBC got hacked last week because an employee opened a malicious attachment in a suspicious email. Despite the shadiness of the email, he still clicked. That click opened a malicious image and allowed hackers to learn the password to NBC’s Twitter account.
One simple click resulted in several false Tweets about another attack at Ground Zero posted on September 11th. The reporter was able to get the situation under control very quickly but the damage was still done. Oops.
Not all ‘oopses’ are that bad. Maybe you just think it would be no big deal to change the page name of a blog post that has already gone live. Sure a redirection can be done but what if that causes more problems? A dead link? Maybe you try and fix it and that only causes more problems? You dig yourself in deeper, all the while thinking “I knew I shouldn’t have done that”. Oops.
The point is once it’s done, it’s done. You can’t change it. Despite earlier predictions, technology today does not include a flux capacitor that can power a time travelling DeLorean.
It’s easier to be proactive than reactive. Trying to clean up a mess after the fact can make it even messier. Changing a page name is one thing—you just get a dead link. Repost and be done with it—your tweet count is gone. Sometimes it’s not that easy. Clicking a suspicious link could infect your computer, phish your information, breach your company, or even spread terrorist hoaxes to the entire country. All with one click.
Don’t let an ‘oops’ happen to you. The next time you’re not sure about what to do, just walk away. Trust me, you’ll be thankful you did.