Cybersecurity Made Simple

Points clés

• Your family's email accounts are the master keys to everything else, so protect them first and the rest of the house becomes far easier.
• One long, different passphrase per account, kept in a password manager, beats clever short passwords that the whole family reuses.
• Turn on two-step sign-in for email, banking and shopping, and teach everyone that a code sent to them is never shared with anyone.
• Hurry, secrecy and money are the three signs of a con; teach your children to stop and show you whenever they appear.
• Automatic updates and a second copy of the family photos quietly handle most of the rest, so set them up once and check monthly.

À l'intérieur de ce bit

1. You do not need to be technical

   Many parents feel that keeping a family safe online needs skills they never learnt. It does not.

2. Five myths that leave families exposed

   The first myth is that nobody would bother with an ordinary family. Most attacks are automated, like a thief walking down a street trying every door handle; they do not choose you, they simply find unlocked doors.

3. A different key for every door

   Using one password everywhere is like having the same key for your house, your car and your office. Lose one copy and every lock is open.

4. The second lock on the door

   Even a good password can be stolen, so add a second lock. Two-step sign-in, sometimes called two-factor authentication, means that after typing your password you also approve the login on your phone or type a short code the service sends you.

5. Spotting a con: hurry, secrecy, money

   Scams change their costumes constantly, but underneath they use the same three signs. Hurry: act now or lose something.

6. The small routine that covers the rest

   Once the master keys have strong, unique passwords and a second lock, two quiet habits handle most of what remains. The first is updates.