Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

This wikiHow article teaches you how to make your accounts, mobile devices, firewalls, computers, and network secure.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Secure your account

1. Generate complex passwords. Passwords used to access your accounts on apps or websites should contain multiple numbers, combine lowercase and uppercase letters, and contain particularly difficult to guess characters.
   • Don't use the same password for more than one website or account. This helps to minimize the damage to you if the hacker gets one of your passwords.
2. Use a password manager. Password manager stores and automatically fills information for you on many different sites, allowing you to create unique and complex passwords for each page without having to worry about typing passwords. import many times. While it's obvious that you should also protect your password yourself, the password manager will make your device more secure.
   • Some of the most popular third-party password managers include "Dashlane 4", "LastPass 4.0 Premium", "Sticky Password Premium", and "LogMeOnce Ultimate".
   • Most browsers have a built-in password manager to store and encrypt your passwords.

3. 

   
   
   Do not disclose the password. This advice may sound obvious, but it is worth repeating: Except for a few school services, you should neither nor obligation to provide a password to the site's administrator for them to access. your account.
   • This logic also applies to people in the information technology industry, representing Microsoft or Apple.
   • Likewise, do not disclose to others the password or PIN of your tablet or phone. Even your friends can unintentionally spit out the password.
   • If you have to give your password to someone else for some reason, you need to change your password as soon as they are done with your account.

4. 

   
   
   Change your password often. In addition to keeping your passwords secret, it's a good idea to change passwords across multiple accounts and devices at least every six months.
   • Make sure not to use the same password twice (eg your Facebook password should be different from your bank account…).
   • When changing your password, you should change it completely. Don't just replace a letter with another one.
5. Use two-factor authentication. This method requires you to enter a code sent to you via text message or another service to access your account after typing your username and password. This makes it harder for hackers to steal your information even if they already know your password.
   • Most major websites including popular social networks have two-factor authentication built in. Check your account settings to see how to enable this feature.
   • You're allowed to set up two-factor authentication for your Google account.
   • Some of the most popular apps for receiving text messages are Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator.
6. Read the privacy policy carefully. Any company that owns your information must have a privacy policy outlining how they will use it, and to what extent it is shared with others.
   • Many people have the habit of clicking yes to the privacy policy without even reading it. If you feel a little tiring reading carefully, you should at least skim to see at a glance how your data will be used.
   • If you disagree with a provision in the privacy policy or don't feel comfortable, you may need to reconsider sharing information with that company.

7. 

   
   
   
   
   Sign out of your accounts after you've finished using them. Just closing the browser window is not enough, so make sure you click (or tap) your account name and select Log Out (or Sign Out) to manually log out of your account and remove login information from the site.

8. 

   
   
   Make sure you enter a password on the official website. There are many forms of phishing out there, like a malicious website pretending to be a login page to your social network or a bank account - which is one of the simplest ways to hack your account. One way to spot a fake page is to look at the page's URL: If it closely resembles (but doesn't have) the URL of a trusted website (e.g. seeing "Faecbook" instead of "Facebook"), it's a page. fake.
   • For example: You should only enter Twitter login information on the official Twitter page. Don't do this on another site that asks for your login information to share a post or something like that.
   • The exception is when a university uses an existing service (like Gmail) through their home page.
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Method 2 of 4: Secure your phone

1. Change your phone password often. The first step in fighting bad guys trying to see or steal your data is to set passwords that are hard to guess and change them often.
   • Make sure to change to a brand new password each time - Don't just change a number in your password.
   • On most phones, you can set "complex" or "advanced" passwords to include letters and characters in addition to regular numeric characters.
2. Use Touch ID if possible. While you may still need to set a password for your phone's lock screen, it's recommended that you use Touch ID on any supported device to pay for a variety of things and other available services.
   • As always, reducing the time it takes to type passwords on any platform is always a must.
3. Browse with a secure web app. While third-party browsers like Tor or Dolphin may seem appealing, syncing your Google Chrome or Safari account with your phone and computer saves you from having to re-type your saved passwords and save them. secure your device from unsafe websites.

4. 

   
   
   Update equipment and software promptly. As soon as there is an update for something, from the Facebook app on your phone to the entire operating system, you should update it as soon as possible.
   • Many updates are fixes that help to fix weaknesses and fix security problems.Without timely software updates, weak points of equipment can be exploited and become targets of attack.
   • Take advantage of the feature that automatically downloads all updates if available. You will avoid a lot of trouble.

5. 

   Charge your phone in reliable USB ports. This includes a USB port on your computer and in your car (if available). Public USB ports, like the ones you see in coffee shops, can reveal your information.
   • For this reason, you should bring the power connector and the USB cable if you are traveling.
6. Avoid jailbreaking (or rooting) your phone or using unorthodox apps. Both iPhonev and Android have layers of security that can be cracked by jailbreaking or rooting the device respectively, but doing so will make your phone more vulnerable to attacks and infections, which was previously impossible. Similarly, downloading an application from an unknown source (also known as a "side-loading" of the application) greatly increases the risk of infection with malware.
   • Android phones come with built-in security tools that prevent downloading apps from unknown sources. If you choose to disable this feature (from the tab Security in Settings), you need to carefully check the web page containing the application to download before proceeding to download.
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Method 3 of 4: Secure your computer

1. Hard drive encryption. If your hard drive is encrypted, the hacker will not be able to read the data stored on it, even if he gets access to your hard drive. Although you have taken many steps to prevent access, encryption is another method that helps keep your information secure.
   • For Mac FileVault is an encryption feature for Mac. You can enable this feature by clicking on the apple icon in the upper left corner of the Mac screen, clicking System Preferences, click the icon Security & Privacy, click tab FileVault, then click Turn On FileVault. You may have to click on the lock icon first, then type the password for the Mac admin account.
   • For Windows - BitLocker is the default Windows encryption feature. To enable this feature, just type "bitlocker" into the Start search bar, click the "Bitlocker Drive Encryption" option, then click Turn on BitLocker. Remember that Windows 10 Home users won't have access to BitLocker without updating to Windows 10 Pro.
2. Install the update as soon as it becomes available. In addition to performance improvements, system updates often improve security as well.
3. Regularly back up data. No matter how good the security layer is, it is still possible that your data is exposed. The reason could be hacked, or simply a computer error. Backing up data helps ensure that you do not lose anything.
   • There are a variety of cloud services that you can use to back up your data. Double-check the security of these services before using them. While you might be tempted by the most affordable service, you still want to make sure your data is kept securely.
   • You can also use an encrypted external hard drive to back up data. Set your computer to back up automatically every day, when you're not normally using your computer.
4. Don't click on suspicious links or reply to strange emails. If you receive a strange email, or an email from a sender that you do not know, consider it as a hack of a bad guy. Avoid clicking on any links or giving personal information to the sender.
   • Remember that just replying to the email is enough to let the sender know that your email address is valid and in use. While you may think of answering in sarcasm, you should know that this gives the bad guy the information needed to hack your account.
5. Install or activate the firewall. Both Windows and Mac computers have firewalls (firewalls) that help prevent hackers from gaining access to your computer. However, on most computers, the firewall is not turned on by default.
   • Go to your computer's security settings and navigate to the "firewall" settings. Here, make sure that the firewall is turned on and is blocking outside connections.
   • If you are using wireless, your router should also have a firewall.
6. Allow firmware password. If your computer has this option available, ask the user to enter the password before rebooting from the drive or entering single user mode. Hackers usually cannot get the firmware password unless they already have access to your computer. However, you must be very careful not to forget or lose your password because it is difficult to retrieve it. How to generate the firmware password is as follows:
   • On Mac Restart your Mac, then hold down the key ⌘ Command and R when the device starts up. Click Utilities, click Firmware Password Utility, click Turn On Firmware Password, then create your password.
   • On Windows Reboot your computer then hold down the BIOS key (usually Esc, F1, F2, F8, F10, or Del) when the computer starts up. Use the arrow keys to select the password option, then type in the desired password.
7. Turn off remote access. Although sometimes you need to access your computer remotely, or allow someone else to do it (for example, when you need technical support), it's a good idea to turn it off, just turn it on. every time you need it.
   • Allowing remote access means "leaving the door open", making it easy for hackers to break into your computer and steal your data.
8. Install anti-virus software on your computer. Antivirus software is able to detect and remove potentially harmful programs and files once downloaded. Windows Defender is good software for PC users, and it comes pre-installed on computers running Windows 10. If you are using a Mac, AVG or McAfee software can become “ solid ”defense, support for Gatekeeper default security suite.
   • You should also ensure that your computer's firewall program and the Bluetooth feature only allow trusted connections to access your computer.
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Method 4 of 4: Secure your network

1. 

   Use secure wireless networks. In general, secure networks will require you to enter a password before connecting. In some places (like the airport or coffee shop), you are allowed to ask for the password after you buy something.
   • If the wireless network is unsecured, your computer will let you know before connecting. Some operating systems even show an exclamation mark next to the name of the network.
   • If you need to use the Internet but do not have access to a secure network, you need to change your password the next time you log on to a secure network.
   • If you have a wireless network at home, make sure the network is always safe and encrypted. Remember that if you leave the default, your wireless router is usually not secure - you have to do it yourself.

2. 

   Only download programs from trusted sites. You should also keep this in mind when visiting websites using an insecure connection. If you don't see a lock icon to the left of the URL and "HTTPS" in front of the "www" part of the URL, it's best to avoid visiting the site (or downloading anything) at all if possible. .
3. Learn to recognize fake websites. In addition to avoiding sites that don't have "HTTPS" and the lock icon next to the URL, it's a good idea to double-check the site's URL before entering the password on it. Some sites conspire to steal login information by spoofing the website (also known as "phishing"). You can identify these pages by noticing if there are extra (or missing) characters, dashes between words, or extra symbols.
   • Example: A fake Facebook page might have a URL of faceboook.com.
   • Web pages that have dashes between words (the word between "www" and ".com") are often not trustworthy.
4. Do not use file sharing services. Typically, file-sharing not only violates intellectual property laws, but file-sharing websites can sometimes be a part of hackers. You may think you're downloading a recent hit song or a new movie, but the file is actually a virus or malware in disguise.
   • Many files are designed in a trick so that viruses or malware are hidden within them from being detected by virus scanning software. Virus will not harm your system unless you try to open the file.
5. Shop only on secure sites. Never enter account or credit card information on a page that doesn't have "https: //" in front of the "www" part of the website address. The letter "s" ensures that the website is secure. Pages without that text will not encrypt or protect your data.
6. Do not expose personal information on social networks. You may think that you only share with your friends, but exposing too much information about yourself and your life on social media can make you vulnerable to hacker attacks. You should share your personal information directly with someone who wants to know instead of posting it publicly on social media. advertisement

Advice

• There are many firewalls, free and paid anti-virus software on the Internet for you to choose from.
• Make sure your password is not the same as your username or email.

Warning

• Unfortunately, the only way that you never get hacked is completely away from technology.