MEN have harder times to demonstrate their mental states of health as compare to women, according to the Malaysian Health Ministry (MOH).
In addition, Kristina Barger, an expert in remote team management and psychological wellbeing, shared that it is harder to notice the mental’s health symptoms for men as they are usually more silent and secretive about their struggles.
Thus, MOH introduced National Men’s Health Action Plan (2018-2023) to bring to light the importance of paying attention to men’s health. Also, the life expectancy of men in Malaysia is almost five years less than women – 72.7 years compares to 77.4 years for women.
“The global health crisis greatly impacts our mental health and it has been a huge cause of stress and increased feeling of vulnerability,” revealed Kaspersky’s general manager (Southeast Asia) Yeo Siang Tiong.
Yeo added this is due to the basic human need for security as stated in Maslow’s pyramid, has been threatened.
“We have switched working and other activities at home, in turn lessening our leisure time, social activities, and the possibility of disconnecting,” Yeo pointed out.
Therefore, Kaspersky has developed a technology to help take care of one’s mental well-being. Dubbed as Cyber Spa, it is a unique digital space where users can practice various online relaxation techniques aimed at helping them handle digital stress and anxiety.
Upon entering Cyber Spa, visitors can choose which tool can benefit them the most at that moment. Also, Cyber Spa comes with an option to go through a diagnostic test to find out one’s overall stress level. After the test, the platform offers a set of relaxation techniques in the most suitable sequence.
Modern fathers
The vast majority of fathers feel responsible both for the financial maintenance of their families and their IT needs, including cybersecurity.
According to study conducted by Kaspersky, fathers are more inclined to let their kids use gadgets from a very early age. Moreover, fathers believe the internet has a positive effect on their children which include on their physical and mental condition, their performance at school, their future profession and on their life in general.
In addition, when it comes to gadgets, fathers are more likely to buy them for their children so that they are not treated as outsiders. Nevertheless, fathers – just like most people – are still learning to balance a life with increased dependence on technology.
It is also important to take note that although our devices and the internet are tools that empower us, these should also be used mindfully to avoid potential burnout.
“At Kaspersky, we believe that our digital wellbeing should be everyone’s priority, especially at this challenging time,” Yeo commented.
To help men-of-the-family keep their homes safe from cyberattacks, Kaspersky has the following tips:
- Use antivirus and internet security software at home: Anti-virus suites take the hard work off the hands by offering automatic security against a host of threats including malware, spyware, viruses, trojans, worms, phishing scams, zero-day attacks;
- Keep family members away from work devices: Password protects work devices to prevent third parties from accessing office files; invest in a sliding webcam cover as savvy hackers can easily access the webcam without permission, compromising your privacy
- VPN: No matter how strong the virtual private network is, when password is compromised, it will give hackers access easily, so password should be updated regularly, too.
- Centralise storage solution: Back-up necessary files in the event of local files being compromised, lost, or destroyed.
- Secure home WiFi: Create a strong, unique password rather than relying on the automatic password the router came with. Also, consider changing the SSID (service set identifier) to make it difficult for third parties to identify and access the WiFi network.
- Strong and secure password: Make sure your passwords are long, strong and unique, at least 12 characters that are a mix of numbers, symbols, capital and lower-case letters. Kaspersky recommends using a password manager tool to help keep all passwords secure.
- Protect online banking: It is essential to use only accredited software and services to handle online banking and to log on only via a secure hypertext transfer protocol (https://); and
- Be wary of e-mail scams and e-mail security: Phishing attacks that appear to be taking an ever-growing number of forms.
“With Cyber Spa, we hope to offer a virtual way to relax and take a breather every once in a while,” added Yeo. – June 9, 2021
