staying safe is a chore but it's also
necessary here are five common security
mistakes you might be making online sure
a short password may be quick to enter
and easy to remember but it's also easy
to hack avoid using a short word for
your password and avoid using the same
password for multiple accounts because
if one account gets hacked hackers can
then also access your other accounts
instead try using a password generator
if you're not already you should be
using a password manager it's a win win
because it stores all of your passwords
for your various accounts and profiles
while also making it easier to use
complex passwords since you will no
longer need to remember them most
password managers also have a password
generator built-in and will autofill
your logins from both the web and your
mobile devices really there's no reason
not to be using a password manager even
if you've gone to the links of using
secure passwords and a password manager
you're not totally protected you should
go through the steps of setting up
two-factor authentication for any
accounts that support it what two-factor
authentication does is send your phone a
text message when you try to log in to
one of your accounts in that text
message is a six digit PIN that will
expire after a short amount of time you
will need to enter this six digit PIN
into your account to be able to log in
if you don't want to use text messaging
you can also use an app like authy or
Google Authenticator to get a similar
six digit PIN two-factor authentication
is still not hacker proof but it
definitely makes it more difficult for
someone to hack their way into your
account and it usually works as a very
solid deterrent connecting to a Wi-Fi
network at Starbucks or the airport is
generally safe but not if you're going
to be doing online banking paying bills
or any other activity where you have to
enter sensitive information treat all
public Wi-Fi spots as insecure also
hackers can set up a Wi-Fi network that
may look like a coffee shop network or
another public Wi-Fi hotspot just to
steal information make sure you're
connecting to the correct network and
avoid any public Wi-Fi hotspots that you
don't recognize if you do connect to one
try to avoid doing any banking or
logging into any secure accounts Apple
Google and Microsoft update their
operating systems regularly with
security patches these patches fix
vulnerabilities that hackers like to
exploit the most recent example being
the wanna cry ransomware that
marketed old and outdated Windows
machines don't ignore those updates are
available notifications and keep your
laptops tablets and phones up to date to
make yourself a tougher target for
hackers for more tips and tricks on
other how to's be sure to check out
cnet.com forward slash how to
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