STRENGTHEN YOUR DIGITAL SECURITY TODAY

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

Since computers are so ubiquitous today, thinking about digital security is a must. Around 90% of Americans have some sort of Internet connection. And just like your house needs guarding against intruders, so does your computer. While most people will probably not fall victim to a digital security breach, prevention remains important.

Most users are not tech experts or security professionals. That means they don’t change much about their computers. They may set a custom desktop background or install some favorite programs. Antivirus programs are common, but they’re not the only way to protect your digital life. This article will explore some of them.

KEEP YOUR SOFTWARE UP TO DATE

This is a simple, elementary method to keep your computer secure. Keeping your operating system and programs updated mitigates security vulnerabilities. Software vendors regularly patch their software for this purpose. New flaws in software code arise often. Patches and updates are the means to fix these flaws. Because of this, it's important upgrade to the latest version of a program. If there’s a problem afterward, you can always revert to the previous version.

CHANGE YOUR DEFAULT ROUTER SETTINGS

Leaving a router unsecured is something that most people unfortunately do. They just don’t know better. New Wi-fi routers are set up with a default network ID and password. This means that all routers from the same manufacturer have the same password. Imagine if all houses built by a given construction company had identical keys to the front door. That’s not very secure! Therefore, you should change your network’s name and password to something different. The way to do this varies by router model. While you’re at it, also set the security to WPA2. Any older security standard (WPA or WEP) is not strong enough.

ENHANCE YOUR ONLINE PRIVACY WITH PRIVACY BADGER

Privacy Badger is a Google Chrome extension by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It works by blocking tracking cookies and spying ads. The extension needs to first learn your browsing habits. Privacy Badger then identifies the elements it needs to block and blocks them. This extension was designed to be the only privacy extension you need. It eliminates the need for other security extensions, like Ghostery and Disconnect. Privacy Badger can be installed on Google Chrome and the new Chromium version of Microsoft Edge.

USE A PASSWORD MANAGER

If you’re like most people, you have several online accounts. To keep them all secure, you need to have a different password for them all. That is one of the most common recommendations security experts make. Since you can’t remember so many passwords, what can you do? Use a password manager. Apps like Enpass, Lastpass, and 1Password can store the login details for all your accounts. That way, the only password you’ll ever need to remember is the one to open your password manager. Keep in mind that this password needs to be strong, since it’s protecting all your other ones. Enpass is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS.

ENABLE TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION FOR YOUR ACCOUNTS

Everyone knows you need a username and password to log in to online accounts. That is plenty secure, especially if you use different passwords for every account. To make your accounts even safer, you can apply two-factor authentication (2FA). Traditional logging in requires only your password. With 2FA, you need both your password (something you know) and a secret code sent to your phone (something you have). This way, even if someone knows your username and password, they can’t get into your account without physical access to your phone. Authy for Android and iPhone is one of the best 2FA apps available. It’s easy to use, so give it a try.

SWITCH TO ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION

Traditional communication methods, such as email and SMS, aren’t secure. Anyone could hijack the conversation, listening in to it. That’s because those messages are sent as they are. To make them unreadable to anyone but the intended recipient, you need encryption. For email, one of the best providers is ProtonMail. With it, you can send encrypted emails to any other ProtonMail user. You can send encrypted emails to people using other email services, but those need a decryption password. You can send it to the recipient using an alternate method. To encrypt your text messages, you can install the Signal app. Signal encrypts all texts you send to contacts who also use Signal. If you send a text to a non-Signal user, it will turn into a plain SMS.

SECURE YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION WITH A VPN

As with the communication methods above, what you do on the Internet is often not concealed. Your Internet Service Provider, for instance, can find out what pages you visit. To make your browsing truly private, you need to use a Virtual Private Network. A VPN encrypts your Internet traffic, making it near impossible to find out where you’ve been. This is one area where you need to spend money, though. Every VPN service worth considering comes with a subscription price. ExpressVPN, one of the top choices, costs $99.95 a year.

PUT YOUR SMART HOME DEVICES ON A SEPARATE WIFI PROFILE

If your router has the capability to create more than one Wi-Fi network profile, take advantage of it. Most newer routers are dual band, meaning they stream Wi-Fi signals in two bands: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Those are the same network profiles, just in a different frequency. You should connect smart devices to a separate network profile to keep your primary network safe. These include Blu-Ray players, smart TVs and thermostats, gaming consoles, and the like. They're much easier to breach than computers and smartphones. If they were compromised, your entire network would be at risk. To solve that problem, activate your router’s guest network and connect your smart devices to it. Make sure to set a different password for the guest network, though. Giving it the same password as the one for your primary network is akin to doing nothing at all.

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With these recommendations, you can make your digital life more secure. You'll be better prepared against cyber threats than most people. While no precautions will make you completely hacker-proof, they can absolutely minimize the impact. Anyone can implement these steps, even a non-tech-savvy person. I'd leave the tips about router settings to a knowledgeable acquaintance, though. The rest are straightforward, though they may take time. This is it for this post. Until next time!