Four Essential Steps To Stay Safe Online
As a leading defense, security, and infrastructure provider, our team brings decades of expertise to the forefront of protecting organizations and individuals from cyber threats. With October recognized as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we’re sharing our top tips to help you stay safe in today’s increasingly digital world.
Rather than overwhelming you with countless recommendations, we’ve distilled our advice into four impactful actions that can significantly enhance your cybersecurity. From implementing robust authentication methods to managing your passwords and keeping your software up-to-date, these steps will strengthen your defenses and protect your most valuable data.
Let’s dive into practical solutions that you can adopt today to bolster your online security.
1. Enable Two-Factor Authentication
- Text message-based 2-factor authentication is one of the least secure methods, but it’s still significantly better than having no 2-factor authentication at all. More secure methods include those used by companies like Apple and Google, where they send a code to a trusted device or app. However, these methods can be more challenging to implement for companies without the extensive reach of Google and Apple. As a result, text messages are often used as a fair compromise.
- Using separate authentic apps, where you open the app to view a code you type in as the 2nd factor, may be less convenient than a text message, but they are more secure than text messages. We highly recommend you take advantage of those options where possible.
- Your email account is what you should secure the most because if a malicious actor has access to your email, they can reset passwords and get into most of your other accounts. This is why enabling 2-factor authentication for those accounts is also important, as they tend to protect you even if someone gets access to your email.
2. Use a Password Manager
- If you use a password manager properly, you’ll only need to remember one password —the password to your password manager. That password becomes critically important, so make sure it’s unique and not easily guessed or cracked. Length is the most important factor here—the longer the password, the better, even if you have to sacrifice some complexity for length.
3. Be Cautious With Unsolicited Invitations And Links
- This will protect you from most bad things. Did you go looking for new antivirus software? If not, then don’t click the pop-up ad asking to install one—it’s probably a scam. Did you go looking for a 20% off coupon for your favorite online vendor? If not, then don’t click that link. Be diligent—malicious actors try really hard to entice you to do things you didn’t ask for. They make things sound really good, but the risk of missing out on a potentially legit good thing is significantly lower than the likelihood of getting scammed, installing malware, or other bad things happening, so just don’t do it. If you didn’t specifically go searching for it or looking for it, don’t accept it. Following this advice should help keep you from clicking on links in emails or opening email attachments, which are two important things to avoid to help protect yourself.
4. Keep Your Software Up-to-Date
- The most important things to keep up-to-date are your primary web browser, your computer’s operating system, and your phone, all of which should have an auto-update option. The things you use regularly are the ones to keep up-to-date. Once patches are released, malicious actors can reverse engineer them to figure out what was fixed and try to exploit them soon after. This is a big reason why installing patches and keeping your software up-to-date is critical: it prevents them from having time to take advantage of the updates before you get them installed.
By focusing on these four key actions—enabling two-factor authentication, using a password manager, being cautious with unsolicited links, and keeping your software up-to-date—you’re taking proactive steps to safeguard your digital presence.
In a world where cyber threats are constantly evolving, these simple yet powerful measures can go a long way in protecting your personal information and maintaining your online security.
We’re committed to staying ahead of these challenges, and we hope these tips help you do the same. Stay safe, stay informed, and take control of your cybersecurity today.