This week is National Cybersecurity Awareness Week and we thought we’d pull together some ideas on how you can stay safe and secure online. In most cases, staying safe online is about a combination of practicing safe behaviors and making sure you’re using the latest, most secure tools and products.
When it comes to passwords, choose wisely
It’s best to use unique passwords for your accounts, especially important accounts like email and online banking. Selecting a password with a mix of numbers and letters will make it harder for someone to guess or crack. For more tips on choosing smart passwords, check out this blog post.
Be mindful of phishing attempts, and avoid getting hooked
“Phishing”: when someone masquerades as someone else in an effort to fool you into sharing personal or other sensitive information with them. This could include account numbers, user names and passwords, or other personal information. Most legitimate businesses will never ask for this information via email. Google doesn't. You can find out more in this blog post.
Develop safe Internet browsing habits
Be careful to sign-out of your account when you’re finished, especially when using a public computer, such as those at libraries or Internet cafes. Don’t share personal information on untrusted sites, and use your judgement when opening files online or in your email. If you happen to get an email from a friend with an attachment you didn't expect, don't be afraid to ask the sender what it is before you decide whether to open it.
Look out for extra security features in services, like HTTPS
Any time you visit a webpage, your computer needs to send and receive information across the Internet. HTTPS encrypts data as it is transmitted between computers on the Internet. You can look for the "https" in the URL bar of your browser to make sure the data is being sent over a secure connection.
Posted by Ishtar Vij, Public Policy Team, Google Australia & New Zealand.
