{"id":159324,"date":"2022-10-03T02:07:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T09:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=159324"},"modified":"2022-10-19T21:45:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T04:45:36","slug":"see-yourself-in-cyber-five-quick-ways-you-can-quickly-get-safer-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/see-yourself-in-cyber-five-quick-ways-you-can-quickly-get-safer-online\/","title":{"rendered":"See Yourself in Cyber \u2013 Five Quick Ways You Can Quickly Get Safer Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

With \u201cSee Yourself in Cyber\u201d as the theme for this year\u2019s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the focus is on you with a look at several quick ways you can quickly get safer online.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now in its 21<\/span>st<\/span> year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month marks a long-standing collaboration between the U.S. government and private industry. It\u2019s aim, empower people to protect themselves from digital forms of crime. And that stands as a good reminder. Phishing attacks, malware, and the other threats we regularly talk about in our blog are indeed forms of crime. And where there\u2019s crime, there\u2019s a person behind it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It can be easy to lose sight of that, particularly as the crook on the other end of the attack is hiding behind a computer. Cybercrime can feel anonymous that way, yet it\u2019s anything but. Whether a single bad actor <\/span>or as part of a large crime organization<\/span><\/a>, people power cybercrime.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet just as you secure your home to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of a criminal, you can also secure your digital life to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of cybercriminal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shore up your security, easily.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

You have plenty of places where you can start, and they\u2019re all good ones. Even a handful of the simplest measures can significantly decrease your risk. Better yet, several take far less time to put into place than you might think, while yet more work automatically once you implement them\u2014making them a sort of \u201cset it and forget it\u201d security measure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With that, this five-step list can get you going:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Use strong passwords and a password manager to stay on top of them all<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Strong, unique passwords offer another primary line of defense. Yet with all the accounts we have floating around, juggling dozens of strong and unique passwords can feel like a task\u2014thus the temptation to use (and re-use) simpler passwords. Hackers love this because one password can be the key to several accounts. Instead, try a password manager that can create those passwords for you and safely store them as well. <\/span>Comprehensive security software will include one<\/span><\/a>, and McAfee also offers <\/span>a free service with True Key<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2) Set your apps and operating system to update automatically<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Updates do all kinds of great things for gaming, streaming, and chatting apps, like add more features and functionality over time. Updates do something else\u2014they make those apps more secure. Hackers will hammer away at apps to find or create vulnerabilities, which can steal personal info or compromise the device itself. Updates will often include security improvements, in addition to performance improvements.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For your computers and laptops:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n