A thorough approach to security is a little bit in the\nhardware, a little bit in the software, and a lot in the hands of the user. If\nyou aren\u2019t well informed of best practices, it can be difficult to protect your\ndevice from compromise. Knowing what to look for, understanding where\nvulnerabilities hide, and learning the fundamentals of security can keep your\ndevice (and all the data it contains) safe from malicious people or attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Always\nMake Backups <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You probably don\u2019t even want to consider a data disaster or\ndevice failure, but you should always protect yourself in the event that it\nhappens. You should utilize an external hard drive to back up anything\nimportant on your devices, as well as things you simply wouldn\u2019t want to lose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your master password list, your family photos, and your\nfinancial documents you store digitally should be placed on an encrypted hard\ndrive that cannot connect to the internet. Keep the device in a physically\nsecure place, like a safe or a lockbox. Hackers cannot access that information\nwithout internet connectivity, and the external hard drive cannot easily be\nstolen if it\u2019s stored safely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The\nPrincipal of Least Privileges <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to avoid major accidents is to make them\nimpossible. Don\u2019t always log in to your computer from an admin account. For\nregular day to day usage, create a regular user account. Make anyone else who\nuses your device use the same kind of account. Regular user accounts cannot\nperform actions that require admin privilege, like changing the system in any\nway or adding or removing programs. The more restricted the account is, the\nsafer any activity on the account will be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Be\nCareful with Torrents and Software<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all torrents are dangerous, but there have been millions\nof cases where torrent files contained malware or malicious code of some sort.\nThis is especially true when the torrent is for some kind of software.\nTypically, torrents are some form of illegal software. Illegal software can\nlead to serious consequences, as downloading and using it is technically theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oftentimes, illegal software will also cause data security\nissues. It isn\u2019t supported or protected by the company, and you have no idea\nwho put it out there. Anyone can see anything you\u2019re doing when you install\nillegal or illegally cracked software on your device. It\u2019s best not to take the\nrisk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Don\u2019t\nUse Easy Passwords<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Using easy passwords is one of the biggest mistakes people\nmake. It\u2019s also one of the easiest mistakes to avoid. If someone wants access\nto your accounts or personal information, the very first thing they\u2019re going to\ndo is attempt to guess your password. It\u2019s even easier to guess if the person\nattempting to steal your data knows you. Simple pins, like your birthday, or\none word passwords like your pet\u2019s name, are very easy to obtain via social\nengineering. Sometimes, hackers ask and you tell them. You may not even realize\nyou\u2019ve given yourself away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stick to passwords that don\u2019t make any sense. Random\ncombinations of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special\ncharacters are not easy to guess or crack utilizing a password cracking tool.\nThe longer the password is, the harder it will be to figure out. If you have a\ndifficult time remembering lengthy and abstract passwords, you can always use\nan encrypted password vault like KeePass for safe storage and easy log ins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Never\nSkip Important Updates <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Updates are very inconvenient. Nobody wants to interrupt a\nbusy work day or a compelling Netflix binge watching session to install system\nupdates \u2013 especially since they can sometimes take an hour or two to complete.\nThe truth is that you can\u2019t afford to skip or postpone these updates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Software companies and operating system developers release these updates to combat emerging threats. New things that can potentially invade or privacy or compromise your security pop up every day. Developers stay on top of known and potential threats, releasing updates as often as necessary to keep you safe. Skipping an update can leave you vulnerable just long enough for a threat to impact you. You wouldn\u2019t ride in a car without a seat belt, and you shouldn\u2019t use your device without its updates. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A thorough approach to security is a little bit in the hardware, a little bit in the software, and a lot in the hands of the user. If you aren\u2019t well informed of best practices, it can be difficult to protect your device from compromise. Knowing what to look for, understanding where vulnerabilities hide, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[19],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/54"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/privatemail.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}