You are going to get hacked

but you can stop it by following these simple steps

As a tech nerd, I often get asked by my friends, often when it is too late, how do I stop myself from being hacked? Here is the thing, you don’t have to be some sort of cyber genius to do this. As the old saying goes, to stop being eaten by the bear you don’t have the be the fastest runner…..only the second slowest. Cybercriminals have been going on a rampage lately because most people are doing the equivalent of leaving their front door open with the keys in the lock and their valuables on display. Don’t do this, follow these simple steps and then share this post on social and to your friends

If you are lazy, watch the video or continue reading!

1. Use a password manager
   

   

   
   The days of you having a few passwords that involved the name of your first pet and your birthday are long gone, everyone should use a password manager to store their passwords. I use 1Password. Yes, there is an annual fee but anything that is this secure deserves to be paid for and it could literally save your online life.
   
   1Password has a Chrome plugin and integrates into your phone so you don’t have to remember the passwords once they are set, they filled in automatically when you visit a website. The app will also warn you when your personal details for a site were hacked and posted online and prompts you to change any sites that use that password. With this app, it is easy to start using passwords that are 10 plus characters and complex enough to deter most hackers
   
   Once you have downloaded this, spend some time going through your most sensitive sites and adding/changing the password using the app. These sites include Gmail, social media, and banks.
   

2. Use 2FA
   
   

   

   
   Having a password itself isn’t secure enough as anyone, could in theory, get hold of the password and use it to get access to a website. Having a second layer of security is really important for your key sites. This is where 2FA (two factor authentication) comes in. Once you input your password, if the browser or location is unknown, the site will ask your to verify yourself using a 2FA code that is on your device. This added layer of security is an essential second layer of protection for things like Gmail and social media sites.
   
   I use an app called Authy as it cross-platform (can be used on phone or desktop) and is fully cloud-based. DO NOT USE Google Authenticator (Authy does that same thing but is way more robust). If you use Google Authenticator and you lose your phone, Google will not be able to recover your codes. It is useless. To learn how to turn on 2FA for your particular service follow this link. THE most important is Gmail. Turn that on immediately. If anyone gets hold of your email you pretty much toast, so make sure Gmail is the most secure application that you use.
   
   A side note on text message verification. Where possible switch to 2FA. It is actually surprisingly easy to intercept text message. Any website that sends you a text, try to figure out if you can get them to 2FA on Authy instead.

3. Secure Gmail
   I know I have gone over the 2FA things above but there are two more things you need to do by going to this link
   
   1. Add a recovery phone number
   2. Add a recovery email - make sure you keep this up to date
   

4. Use a VPN in public locations

   

   
   
   This one is a bit more advanced but the most vulnerable places you can use your computer are on public networks such as coffee shops, hotels etc. Especially if you are doing anything sensitive like banking or confidential work then switch on a VPN. I use Express VPN and it’s awesome. If you are using it just for security reasons then choose the city you are in for Express VPN to route the traffic through. That way you maximise the speed of your connection.