Internet Safety: 7 Steps
to Staying Safe Online. Hi everyone,
Leo Notenboom here for AskLeo.com, where every video every week
in my newsletter, every article on my site is an attempt to give you more confidence
dealing with technology and to deal with it with less fear.
This is actually a video based on what I consider to be my single most
important article on AskLeo.com. Obviously there will be
a link to it in the description, but the point here is that I'm not going
to read or go through this article in detail.
There are many pieces of information
in that article, many links to additional information that I think is important
for you to understand, to read, and to take the time to go through.
I will, however, go through those seven points and talk about them each in turn.
Point number one scan for malware.
Or more correctly, make sure you've got a good anti malware
or security solution in place on your machine and keep it up to date.
The good news here is that with Windows Ten and Windows Eleven,
most of us can get by with what's already built into the system.
But if you end up wanting or needing
a third party tool, make sure it's a good one.
Make sure it's installed and configured
properly, and make sure it's getting updated regularly.
Speaking of up to date number two stay up to date.
This applies to much, much more than just your security software.
This is about Windows itself,
about the applications that are running on your machine and more.
Yes, I know there's risk.
There's always risk in taking an update.
Of late, Windows actually hasn't been too bad.
But it is still significantly more risky
to run unpatched than it is to actually take Windows Update regularly.
Do that.
Update your software regularly.
Number three secure your accounts.
This is the litany of things you should do for keeping your online accounts secure.
Use long, strong passwords.
Don't reuse them.
Use a password vault.
Use two factor authentication wherever possible, ensure that your account
recovery information is set and up to date.
Number four educate yourself honestly,
all of the protection in the world will not protect you from yourself.
This means being skeptical.
Don't open attachments you aren't sure about.
Don't fall for phishing scams.
Don't click on links in email that you aren't positive are absolutely safe.
Don't install free software without checking it out first.
Many of them tag along other pieces
of software that you really, really don't want.
Number five secure your home network and your mobile connection.
That means doing things like using WPA2
to encrypt your WiFi connections and prevent outsiders from connecting.
That means making sure your router is
properly secured and configured to keep your network safe.
It means knowing how to use an open WiFi hotspot safely when you're out and about.
And that goes for hotels as well.
Number six don't forget the physical.
All of the security in the world,
once again, is meaningless if somebody could walk up to your machine and start
accessing it as if they are you, especially if you're traveling.
Remember that a stolen laptop can give
access to everything that's on it if you haven't secured it properly.
Don't forget, if it's not physically secure, it's not secure.
And finally, number seven backup.
I know this doesn't seem like an Internet
safety kind of a thing, but trust me, it really is.
Backing up is one of those things that can save you from so many different things.
Now, we often think about it as saving us
from hardware failures, hard disks that go belly up or whatever.
In reality, a backup, for example,
is one of the fastest ways to recover from a malware infestation.
If you suddenly find that you have malware on your machine, restoring to a backup
taken prior to that malware's arrival eliminates it.
Backing up is one of the single most
important things you can do for so many different reasons.
I get it.
This is a lot of stuff.
It can feel overwhelming.
It isn't, really, because most of these are set it and forget it kind of things.
You install software, you configure tools,
you develop habits, you run backups automatically do them.
Regardless of whether this feels
overwhelming or not to you, it will get better over time.
But the bottom line here, really,
is that your security, your safety online is your responsibility and no one else's.
Again, I know that feels kind of scary, but it's all doable.
You can do this. Trust me.
There are millions of people who are
dealing with the Internet and being online safely every day.
There's nothing preventing you from being one of them, other than just knowing what
to do and then developing the habits and setting up the systems to do them.
I hope that's helpful.
Like I said, this is actually a much longer article with a lot more references
to details about what I've been talking about here.
Visit Askleo.com/2374 to visit that article and find out more.
Also updates, comments, related links you get the idea.
It's all there.
AskLeo.com/2374. I'm Leo.
Notenboom.
This is AskLeo.com. Thanks for watching.