Seven tips from Google of things you absolutely must stop doing right now to stay safe online

10 years ago | Posted in: Technology | 573 Views

AH, THE internet.

Full of grumpy catshilarious memes and … Karl Stefanovic.

But there’s more to the cyber world than just fun and frivolity. And that’s what the Federal Government hopes to highlight today for Safer Internet Day, after increasing reports of bullying and crime online.

“You wouldn’t use one key to open your front door, unlock your safe and start your car, it’s the same for the web,” said Google Communications Manager Shane Treeves.

“Online baddies can get to you.”

Meanwhile a Telstra Cyber Safety survey of 1001 Australians aged 18 to 25 found 82 per cent of the first generation who have grown up with social media did not realise the long-term impact of their posts and 52 per cent had regrets about things they’d posted.

So we’ve teamed up with Google to give you the heads up on how you can create a safer internet not just for yourself, but for the world wide web.

1. USING THE SAME PASSWORD FOR EVERYTHING ONLINE

It’s like handing out the key to your house (which is also the key to your car) to everyone you ever meet.

2. HAVING AN ‘EASY’ PASSWORD

If your password contains the word ‘password’, or number in sequence, you #fail. Try thinking about a song you like and using the first letter of each word in a section of the lyrics! Or the line of a poem? Or the first street you lived on, spelled backwards! Something, anything!

3. RELYING ON JUST PASSWORDS

It’s so old-school to have a password only. Turn on two-factor authentication. An SMS code or mobile app that gives you a second code when you’re accessing your account from an unfamiliar computer will give you extra peace of mind.

4. BEING A SUCKER

You almost certainly haven’t won millions of pounds in a British lottery. Your friends that you didn’t even know were travelling are not stuck in Russia. You know the old saying, if it looks too good to be true …

5. IGNORING BAD CONTENT

Do your bit. Clean the web up. Report and flag content that is abusive or illegal, which will help everyone out.

6. BURYING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR SETTINGS

If you’ve never checked your settings, how can you know what to expect when you share your content?

7. USING AN ANCIENT BROWSER

There’s no excuse for not keeping your device’s browser and operating system up-to-date. When you do install software, make sure you’re getting the software from a trusted source. Or you could just use a Chromebook which updates automatically for you.

source: news.com.au

 

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