You can improve your digital safety with a handful of habits: protect important accounts with unique passwords and multifactor authentication, verify unexpected messages, install updates, secure your home network, and back up important files. These steps reduce common risks; they cannot guarantee that an account or device will never be compromised. The guidance below comes from U.S. government sources. If you live elsewhere, use your country’s consumer-protection and cybercrime reporting channels.
How can I improve my digital safety in everyday life?
Start with the accounts that could unlock other parts of your digital life, then work through messages, updates, your home network, and recovery plans. CISA’s Secure Our World program groups its basic advice around recognizing and reporting phishing, using strong passwords, enabling multifactor authentication (MFA), and updating software.
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- Secure your email and other accounts used to reset passwords.
- Pause and verify before acting on unexpected messages.
- Turn on automatic updates where available.
- Change your router’s defaults and check connected devices.
- Back up important data and plan for recovery.
Which accounts should I protect first?
Begin with your primary email, financial accounts, and any account that can reset another account’s password. For each, use a long, unique password rather than reusing one across services. A password manager can help create and keep track of distinct credentials; CISA includes password managers among its consumer guidance and resources. See CISA Secure Our World and the FTC’s phishing guidance.
Enable MFA wherever the service offers it. MFA asks for an additional proof of identity beyond a password, so a stolen password alone may not be enough to access an account. Check the service’s current security settings and recovery options when you set it up.
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When a security key may make sense
A physical security key is an optional MFA method, not a universal requirement. CISA describes security keys as a phishing-resistant option and says its security-key recommendation “provides the best protection against phishing and is easy to use.” That statement appears in CISA’s Four Cybersecurity Essentials, which is aimed at state, local, tribal, and territorial governments—not a consumer product test. Before buying a key, confirm that the accounts and devices you want to protect support it, and understand how you would regain access if the key were lost.
How should I handle an unexpected email or text?
Phishing messages may imitate a familiar organization, ask for personal information, or urge you to open an attachment. Treat urgency as a reason to slow down, not as proof that a message is legitimate. Do not rely on the message’s link or phone number to verify its claim.
- Open the organization’s official website using an address or bookmark you already trust, or contact it through a number you already have.
- Do not open an unexpected attachment or share sensitive information in response to an unsolicited request.
- Report suspected phishing through the relevant organization or official reporting channel. The FTC explains how to report phishing emails and texts.
Why should I turn on software updates?
Updates often include critical patches and protections against security threats, according to the FTC. Enable automatic updates where available for your operating system, browser, apps, and security software. CISA’s Secure Our World guidance puts software updates among its four basic steps and says, “Don’t delay software updates.” If automatic updates are not available, check for updates regularly and install them through the device or software maker’s official update mechanism.
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How do I secure my home Wi-Fi and connected devices?
Use the router’s administration settings to change its default administrator credentials and network name, enable Wi-Fi encryption, and install router updates. Defaults can be widely known or easy to guess, so use credentials that are not reused from other accounts. CISA’s Secure Our World guidance covers securing home networks and connected devices.
For smart-home devices, change default settings and check for available hardware and software updates. Use the device maker’s current instructions for exact menus, which vary by model. A router update does not necessarily update every device connected to it.
How can I prepare for losing data?
Back up important information on your computer and phone regularly so you have a way to recover it after a device failure or another incident. CISA recommends using an external drive or a properly vetted cloud service. Choose a backup approach you can maintain, and confirm that important files can be restored rather than assuming a backup is usable.
Encryption can add protection to data stored on a device or in files, but plan recovery before enabling it. CISA advises backing up first and securing the recovery key and password. If you lose the key or password, you may be unable to access encrypted data, so keep recovery information somewhere safe and separate from the device.
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- Enable MFA and replace reused passwords on your email and financial accounts.
- Set devices and apps to update automatically where possible.
- Change your router’s default administrator credentials and enable Wi-Fi encryption.
- Set up regular backups for important files, then consider encryption with a recovery plan.
Work through the steps at a pace you can sustain. For exact setup instructions, use the current help pages for your accounts, devices, router, and backup service; settings and compatibility vary.
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