5 easy tasks that supercharge your digital security

Protecting your personal data isn’t just smart these days—it’s a necessity. As the world grows more and more connected, your private info becomes more and more valuable. Whether it’s using leaked info from website breaches to hack into your other accounts or holding your personal computer ransom for money, malicious evildoers won’t hesitate to ruin your day if it puts profits in their pockets.

All is not lost though. Following some basic security principles can help protect you from most of the attacks you’ll find on the World Wild Web. Better yet, these five easy security tasks should take only a short while to get set up. Do them now and sleep easier at night.

Further reading: Be safe! How I set up a ‘Paranoid PC’ to surf the risky web

1. Use a password manager

On of the biggest security risks these days is password reuse. Major websites and services report massive data breaches on a shockingly regular basis. If you’re using the same email and password for multiple accounts, and any of those accounts leak, attackers can hack into your other ones using the information.

Using strong, unique passwords for every account you own protects against that—but memorizing a different random password for every website you create an account for is next to impossible. That’s where password managers come in. These tools can create strong randomized passwords for you, store the information, and automatically fill in login fields on websites and software alike. Browsers are starting to offer basic password management tools too. They work in a pinch, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed about using Chrome’s password manager over nothing, but aren’t good enough overall. Investing in a proper password manager is well worth it (especially because many services offer a free tier).

Our guide to the best password managers can help you find the perfect fit for your needs.

2. Enable two-factor authentication