You've likely been hearing about how cyberattacks are getting more frequent and challenging to deal with. Such worries aren't unreasonable since more than 600 million target people and businesses worldwide daily. The good news is there's a lot you can do about it. In fact, spending just one weekend on boosting your cyber defenses will drastically reduce the likelihood of such an attack happening to you.
Want to know how? Here’s our step-by-step guide on building an impregnable cyber fort in 48 hours or less!
Review Updates & Apps
Let’s begin with the easiest and one of the least time-consuming steps – update management. The operating systems on your devices should update automatically, as should most apps. That ensures you're always running the latest versions and benefiting from the best possible developer security.
Check that everything is current and is updated automatically. While you're at it, go over and remove apps you haven't used in a while, even if they're up to date. Deleting unnecessary apps will free up space while reducing the likelihood of attacks that developers aren't aware of.
Sort Out Your Passwords
Passwords are the first (and often last) security measure to keep your accounts from getting hijacked, so ensuring they're effective is a must. Start by rounding up the login info for your core accounts and expand from there, noting any short, easily guessable, or duplicate passwords. These are a no-no since they're easy to hack and can endanger multiple accounts.
Now is also a good time to delete any unimportant accounts that may be tied to your real contact info or payment methods.
Even if you have many accounts to protect, you can easily change their login credentials in a couple of hours with the help of a password manager. The best password managers take the guesswork out of password generation while ensuring each is unique and complex enough to provide a challenge hackers won't want to bother with.
Lastly, delete any passwords stored by your browser since they're unsafe. Using your password manager to fill them in automatically is equally convenient but much more secure.
Enable 2FA
Two-factor authentication is separate from password management but so important that managers offer it as a feature. A strong password prevents brute-force hacking, but it can still be misused if an attacker steals it in a data breach or tricks you into exposing it through a phishing scam.
Enabling 2FA reinforces accounts with a second code entered when logging in from a new location or device. Hackers might have your password but can't log into the account without the second code. Be sure to use an authentication app on your phone rather than SMS since the latter's security is outdated.
Upgrade Your Privacy
Advertisers and cybercrooks can use your online presence and habits to create a profile that makes it easier to target you with ads or link information you share to login credentials or your real-life whereabouts.
Preventing this starts by installing and using a VPN whenever you're online. The VPN can make it look like you're connecting from anywhere in the world, masking your IP and any connections of your internet activity to it. Moreover, the VPN uses sophisticated encryption to protect the entire connection from surveillance and data theft. This is particularly useful if you travel a lot or frequent places with unsafe public Wi-Fi.
Set your social media profiles to private and delete people from your friends lists you don't interact with or want to read your posts. Speaking of, delete anything you're no longer comfortable sharing online.
Finally, consider a private browser for even more privacy-focused features. At the very least, enable an ad-blocking extension in your current browser to disable ad tracking and have a much better overall user experience.
Secure Your Home Network
The last thing to accomplish is to make your router and connected devices hackproof.
Start by changing the router’s default login credentials since they’re easy to find online and use to gain access. Change your SSID (the network name) to something vague that doesn’t include identifying details about your family.
Make sure your Wi-Fi password is robust, and enable WPA3 encryption for the most advanced protection. If you have smart home gadgets, segment them into a separate network to cut them off from more important devices.
