Hygiene has always been part of everyday life, helping you make sensible decisions about your body and much more. The same principle applies to computing, where we talk about digital hygiene. The growing use of IT tools in every area of life exposes us to a range of risks, so it’s vital to fix bad habits, because the consequences can be dire. That’s why you need to know the best practices for good cyber hygiene and optimal security. Below, we present some of these rules.
What is digital hygiene?
Digital hygiene means thinking proactively about cybersecurity so you don’t run into security problems online. It’s a set of precautions to protect yourself against online threats (viruses, fraud, etc.). Think of it as a skill to develop and use every day to stay safer on the internet. Many people still don’t take it seriously, even though online threats get worse by the day. A cyberattack often leads to financial loss, identity theft or data theft. To avoid a disaster and slow down cybercriminals, you should make effective cyber hygiene rules second nature.
Some digital hygiene rules
Cyber hygiene measures help protect you online against all sorts of threats. They’re the foundation of a secure digital life, and following them will spare you some nasty surprises.
Check that the websites you visit are safe and trustworthy
Before visiting any website, check that it’s trustworthy and offers secure browsing. To do so, pay attention to a few details. Look at how the URL is written and at the site’s overall appearance. Appearances can be deceptive and shouldn’t be your only check, but this first look will weed out most dodgy sites. A site whose URL starts with “HTTPS” is, for example, more likely to be legitimate. Then go further by checking the legal notice and terms and conditions. Does the site have a clearly identified owner? Does it provide contact details for the people in charge? All of this helps you tell whether the platform was created by honest people.
Choose strong, reliable passwords
It’s important to choose strong passwords to secure your devices and user accounts. They should be complex, unique and long, with at least 8 to 12 characters mixing symbols, numbers, and lower and upper case letters. Avoid easy passwords built from simple combinations of your first name, phone number or date of birth, which can be guessed quickly. Don’t write them down, don’t share them, never reuse the same one, and change them regularly. If you find it hard to create and remember passwords, try a password manager to generate, remember and protect them for you. Cybercriminals struggle with complex passwords that are regenerated regularly and use many characters.
Keep your digital tools up to date
An out-of-date tool can be attacked or exposed to cyber threats. Regular updates to your software, operating systems, web browsers and apps include fixes that remove or correct the flaws of previous versions. You can set your devices to update automatically so you always benefit from the latest protection. Note that software vendors don’t always announce security fixes, as doing so could also alert attackers. When updates aren’t automatic, only download them from the vendor’s official platforms.
Back up regularly
This is one of the most important rules to avoid the heartbreak of losing your files to loss, theft or destruction after a virus attack. Regularly backing up your personal or work data also protects you if your device fails after a hack. It’s therefore wise to regularly back up your important data both offline, on a recordable DVD, USB stick or external hard drive, and online, through a cloud storage service or a network storage server. For the latter, you can buy a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or, if you’re tech-savvy, set up your own FTP server.
Use an antivirus and a firewall for good digital hygiene
The web is full of all kinds of malicious files, and using the right defensive tools matters for good digital hygiene. Ransomware, Trojans, spyware and viruses are all used by cybercriminals to compromise the security of your devices. Fortunately, there are tools that can protect you from these intrusions: antivirus software, anti-malware and firewalls, provided they’re properly configured. A firewall is the first line of defence in network security, preventing unauthorised users from reaching your mail servers, websites and anything else exposed to the internet. An antivirus works preventively, stopping viruses and other malicious programs from infecting your devices and shielding them from existing security holes. Anti-malware removes malicious software that has already been downloaded and run on your hardware. Using all these tools together is vital to maximise the security of your data, and to spot the signs that your computer has been hacked early.
Be careful with email to keep good digital hygiene
Links or attachments sent to you by email can be used to steal your personal information. It’s therefore important to protect your email from attackers by taking a few specific measures. Phishing is the most common technique cybercriminals use to break into your mailbox: they impersonate someone close to you or a well-known organisation to obtain your confidential data. If they succeed, they can get hold of your banking details, the passwords for sites you’ve visited and more. Phishing doesn’t stop at email either: malicious QR codes are increasingly used too. To prevent this:
- Avoid sending personal information by email.
- Avoid clicking on links or attachments in a message. Hover over a link to see where it really points, then decide whether to click.
- Check that the protocol securing internet exchanges, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL, now TLS), is active before sending an email.
- Turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible to secure access to your account.
- Check the address of a website before entering your details. Make sure it exactly matches the genuine site; otherwise, it’s a fraud.
And if you have any doubt about where a message comes from, contact the organisation or person directly to check that they really sent it. This rule is just as important as the others and will save you some extra trouble.
Avoid connecting to public or unknown Wi-Fi networks
Public networks are a godsend for cybercriminals, who can easily access and take control of them to intercept your personal data. Avoid connecting to them as much as possible. First, turn off wireless connections such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you’re not using them, so they don’t automatically connect to a public network. Then, if you have no choice but to use an unknown or public Wi-Fi network, don’t do anything sensitive on it, such as entering confidential information or paying by card. Remember to protect your hotspot with a proper password so strangers can’t access your shared data. Likewise, if you have a Wi-Fi router, secure it with a password to stop third parties from accessing your personal data.
Stick to safe websites
Avoid illegal or dubious websites, as some may contain viruses or host counterfeit content. Never download files from illegal download platforms or use unofficial sites: they often host infected files and sometimes malware (viruses and the like). If you want to install an app on your tablet, smartphone or PC, only use official app stores or the app’s official website.
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