Triggered by the recent threads about a stolen account, I just thought I'd take the time to spread the gospel of IT security even for personal stuff. You don't want your identity or your money stolen, trust me. Neither online nor away from keyboard.
Login Credentials
Do you have good and strong passwords everywhere and don't reuse them? Good! You're in a minority.
If not, please read up on how todo that. In a recent survey among IT security professionals, I found that the tools most often used to assist in this field where 1password and lastpass ...these tools work both on computers and mobile devices. Google Chrome and other operating systems also have built in functions, even if they are a bit simpler.
https://1password.com/https://www.lastpass.com/
And please do use 2FA everywhere where personal contacts to your friends or money might be involved. If your aging uncle would get a message from a scammer posing as you through Facebook messenger, could he be convinced to Venmo money to "you"?
Mobile devices
If your phone was stolen or you dropped it into the ocean, do you know how to restore all your data? Is everything of importance synced to the cloud? Do you have theft location services activated (e.g. "Find my iPhone")? If not, please read up on how to do this.
Your mobile device should also be protected by a locked home screen so a pick-pocket cannot unlock it. If you get login codes through text messages, they should not be shown on the screen without unlocking the device first.
Cloud storage
If your google account was to be locked down or you locked out of it for any reason, do you know how to get back in? Do you have the data stored elsewhere? Google have a function called "Takeout" where you can do regular downloads of all your data just in case. The others most certainly have something similar.
Backups
Do you have a system for having up to date backups of all your local storage in your PC? If your house was to burn down or get flooded, can you restore all important files?
Other resources
Check out Security Planner, created by a team at University of Toronto. By answering a few questions about what stuff you are using and the threats you fear, you get concrete tips and links to solutions.
https://securityplanner.consumerreports.org/
One eye-opening check of known data leaks is "Have I Been Pwned?" - You enter your e-mail address and it lists which known leaks your address can be found in - if any.
https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Feel free to add to this list.
Login Credentials
Do you have good and strong passwords everywhere and don't reuse them? Good! You're in a minority.
If not, please read up on how todo that. In a recent survey among IT security professionals, I found that the tools most often used to assist in this field where 1password and lastpass ...these tools work both on computers and mobile devices. Google Chrome and other operating systems also have built in functions, even if they are a bit simpler.
https://1password.com/https://www.lastpass.com/
And please do use 2FA everywhere where personal contacts to your friends or money might be involved. If your aging uncle would get a message from a scammer posing as you through Facebook messenger, could he be convinced to Venmo money to "you"?
Mobile devices
If your phone was stolen or you dropped it into the ocean, do you know how to restore all your data? Is everything of importance synced to the cloud? Do you have theft location services activated (e.g. "Find my iPhone")? If not, please read up on how to do this.
Your mobile device should also be protected by a locked home screen so a pick-pocket cannot unlock it. If you get login codes through text messages, they should not be shown on the screen without unlocking the device first.
Cloud storage
If your google account was to be locked down or you locked out of it for any reason, do you know how to get back in? Do you have the data stored elsewhere? Google have a function called "Takeout" where you can do regular downloads of all your data just in case. The others most certainly have something similar.
Backups
Do you have a system for having up to date backups of all your local storage in your PC? If your house was to burn down or get flooded, can you restore all important files?
Other resources
Check out Security Planner, created by a team at University of Toronto. By answering a few questions about what stuff you are using and the threats you fear, you get concrete tips and links to solutions.
https://securityplanner.consumerreports.org/
One eye-opening check of known data leaks is "Have I Been Pwned?" - You enter your e-mail address and it lists which known leaks your address can be found in - if any.
https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Feel free to add to this list.
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