Account security

You should improve the strength of your main email account password. This is the most important action you can take, as your main email account is likely to be linked to most of your accounts for social media and online services. If a hacker has access to your main email account, then they can reset your passwords for all of your social media and online service accounts. Don’t delay, do it today!

When choosing a strong password, avoid using any personal data such as names or dates that would be easy to guess or find out about you. Add complexity to your passwords by adding numbers and symbols, but you should avoid obvious combinations such as “123” or using an exclamation mark at the end: this is commonly used and easy for a hacker to guess.

The National Cyber Security Centre recommends using 3 random words for your password, for example “FootballCandleKeyboard” as this is a memorable formula and should be complex enough that it is difficult to hack. Don’t tell anyone else your passwords, and if someone else already knows your password then it is time to make a change.

You should use 2-Factor Authentication (2-FA) whenever it is possible on your accounts. This simply means adding an extra layer of security to your accounts, on top of your password. It might be a verification code that is sent to your email, or using your fingerprint to verify that you really are who you say you are. With 2-Factor Authentication enabled, if your password is compromised then you have a second security net to stop unauthorised access. You can see which methods of 2-FA are used by common websites/apps/games.

If you use a smartphone or tablet, you should update your apps as soon as an update is available through the app store/play store. Updates contain security patches to known vulnerabilities, so you should set your device to download these automatically. The same advice applies to a computer or laptop when operating system updates are available.