Actionable Steps for Personal Security

Lets talk about actionable steps that you can take today to better protect yourself against cyber attacks and malware

Use a strong password

One of  the easiest things you can do right now. Make sure your password is at least 8 characters in length and has a combination of letters, numbers and a special character.

Password Variety

Even if you have got the strongest password in the world, it’s not a good idea to just one password for all your accounts. Try to come up with 2 or even 3 variations of your main password and use those as well for some accounts. An alternative here would be to use password managers like Dashlane or LastPass.

Deploy Multi Factor Authentication Methods

Several websites and applications like Gmail recommend a second means of verifying who you are such as receiving a text message with a code on your phone when attempting to log in from a different computer. This extra layer of security can make a huge difference so please do it.

Use an Antivirus

You already know why you should. If you want a recommendation, I highly recommend using Kaspersky.

Watch out for HTTPS

As we discussed in the Protocols class, HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP and should be used on sites where important information like credit card details are provided. Whenever you are on such a site, make sure that you can see the secure padlock sign in the address bar that shows HTTPS

Change your routers default password

If you have an internet router at home, take 10 minutes now to change the default password now if you haven’t.

Use a standard account

On a daily basis I highly recommend you use a non administrative account on your computer. This means that even if you get infected with a malware, it wouldn’t be able to do much damage. In other words, no admin rights = no admin privileges to infect your PC.

Be cautious at all times

Always double check anything you download to your computer. Think twice before clicking on that link you receive in your email. Be extremely wary of free applications.

Don’t store sensitive data on your PC

If you have got important files like scanned copies of very important documents, you are better off storing them on a detachable flash drive that you can always plug into your computer and use when you have to.