https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home
Cyber Aware gives the UK government’s tips on how to stay secure online.
- Create a separate password for your email and separate passwords for any important online accounts e.g. financial ones
- Make sure the passwords are strong e.g. use three random words hat no-one else could guess
- Saving your passwords in your browser means you wont need to remember so many different passwords
- Turn on two-factor authentication for important accounts where it is available
- Keep your devices up to date with latest security
- Backup all important files regularly. Most devices can do this automatically for you.
Your personal email account contains lots of important information about you and is the gateway to all your other online accounts. If you forget an account password, your email address is the means to reset that password and this makes your email password critical to you.
If your email account is hacked all your other passwords can be reset, so use a strong password that is different to all your others.
Weak passwords that can be guessed or are a word in the dictionary can be hacked quite easily.
The longer and more unusual your password is, the stronger it becomes and the harder it is to hack. The best way to make your password long and difficult to hack is by using a sequence of three random words you’ll remember and no-one else can guess.
You can make it even stronger b including special characters such as @£# etc.
Starting with your most important accounts (such as email, banking and social media), replace your old passwords with new ones.
Two-factor Authentication
2FA is a free security feature that gives you an extra layer of protection online and stops cyber criminals getting into your accounts – even if they have your password. It reduces the risk of being hacked by asking you to provide a second factor of information, such as getting a text or code when you log in, to check you are who you say you are.
Check if the online services and apps you use offer 2FA – it’s also called two-step verification or multi-factor authentication. If they do, turn it on.
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