Written by Kelly Eyton-Jones

Six ways to improve your online security

Last week, the Equilibrium team had a visit from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit to refresh our cybersecurity knowledge. We found it very informative and thought you may too. There really is no better time than right now to start making the following changes:

1 - Create a separate password for your email

Whilst it may be convenient to use the same password across multiple websites, this makes a cyber-criminal’s job very easy. This is especially so when it comes to your email account, as this provides a central hub of everything a criminal would want to know about you including your bank details, the opportunity to pretend to be you and the access needed to reset all your other account passwords.

2 - Create a strong password

Weak passwords can be cracked in seconds. Clues on social media such as birthdays and names of pets, provide hackers with plenty of ideas for passwords or security question answers.

To create a strong password, it is advised to choose three words that are random to each other. This should be easier to remember than one with special characters and numbers but should prove difficult for someone to guess.

3 - Save your passwords in a password manager

If you have multiple accounts, it can be hard to remember all the usernames and passwords, however, a password manager such as Dashlane can help. This provides a safe place to securely store your passwords with additional benefits including alerts if you use the same password twice and notifies you if your account appears in a known data breach.

If you want to check if your email or phone have been involved in a data breach, go to the ‘have I been pwned?’ website here.

4 - Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)

2FA is a must-have security feature for all your important accounts such as email, banking, and social media. This is typically done by linking your phone number or email with an account. Each time you log in, a new PIN will be generated and sent to your phone/ email. This is a simple, but incredibly effective way, to keep your information secure.

5 - Update your devices

Installing the most recent updates on your devices protects them against malware and viruses otherwise the security of your device is at risk.

Next time you're notified of a software update, treat it as a top priority to complete. Alternatively, you can enable automatic updates on most devices via settings.

6 - Backup your data

Set up regular backups of your most important data as it's quick to do and saves a lot of time and stress should you need to access it in the future. Backups make it easy when setting up a new device and is also invaluable if a virus erases your data or prevents you from accessing it.

These six recommendations are easy to implement and helps us all stay one step ahead of the hackers!