Protecting Your Digital Life

Some simple steps you can take to protect your digital life:

• Use two-factor authentication
• This is an absolutely critical step for protecting your digital life, especially for your primary email account. Once a hacker gains access to your primary email account, they are often able to gain access to your entire digital life.
• When you turn on two-factor authentication you have to go through a second step when logging in. This could mean:
• Having a code sent by text message
• Having a code sent by email (other than the one you are trying to log in to)
• Generating a code using Google Authenticator App
• To turn on two factor authentication for your Gmail check out this guide
• Use WhatsApp to send text messages
• WhatsApp messages are by default encrypted
• Use a password manager like Dashlane, LastPass, 1Password, KeePass to help you generate difficult to crack passwords and to remember these passwords for you.
• It is very dangerous to use the same password for all your digital accounts. Once your password is compromised, especially when tied to your username, hackers can use this information to gain access to your other accounts, and this information is disseminated on digital black markets.
• Use HTTPS Everywhere
• This extension enables to you to access websites securely, protecting you from surveillance and hacking.
• Cover your webcam with tape
• Hackers can gain access to your webcam and take video of you without your knowledge. A simple piece of tape can help thwart this.
• Use DuckDuckGo for sensitive searches
• DuckDuckGo is an Internet search engine that emphasizes protecting searchers' privacy and avoiding the filter bubble of personalized search results.
• Incognito mode is not a private as you might think
• Going incognito doesn’t hide your browsing from your employer, your internet service provider, or the websites you visit.
• Use antivirus and malware removal
• While antivirus software can slow down your computer a bit, the benefits often outweigh the costs.
• Avast or Avira are good free Antivirus programs and run actively in the background.
• Malwarebytes is great to run every month or two to detect malware, it only runs when you run a scan, and the scan often takes less than a minute.