Simple cyber safety.
5 steps to help you safeguard yourself and your family online.
1. Change your passwords regularly.
Keep them easy to remember but difficult for others to guess. A different password for each login is often recommended and you should avoid using personal details.
Top tips.
- Create a long password.
- Include a combination of symbols, numbers, upper and lower case.
- Use a different password for each account.
- Password managers can help keep your passwords unique and store them, securely.
2. Pay attention to updates.
It’s important to keep your device software up-to-date. Set software updates to automatic to be sure you’re protected with the latest versions.
3. Gone phishing?
Always be cautious before clicking on links or opening attachments in emails. Digital scams are everywhere and they can be hard to recognise.
Common things to look out for:
- Senders you don’t recognise.
- Emails that are not directly addressed to you.
- Spelling or grammar errors.
- Linked URLs not related to the company email you.
- Altered company branding – check logos, company names look like you expect.
- Hidden typos in the URL.
Learn more about Phishing on the CERT website.
4. Lock the digital doors.
Check your privacy settings on devices, online accounts and social media profiles and make sure they’re set to your preference. Doing so helps you stay in control of how your data is being used and who it’s being shared with. There’s plenty of helpful ‘how-to’ videos online to guide you in updating your settings.
Parental controls.
Keep it real online is a useful New Zealand government resource. It provides a thorough overview of online challenges, ways to address them and tools and advice to support parents to help keep their families safe online.
5. Do a digital declutter.
Back up your data often – be it on cloud storage or an external hard drive.
Unsubscribe/unfollow content that you don’t engage with.
Functions like Apple’s Hide my email can help to separate your personal email from app and website subscriptions. Or, consider setting up a free email address that you only use for retail experiences and subscriptions.
