Nine habits that prevent the overwhelming majority of everyday compromises, none of which require technical skill.
Read the domain, not the design
Attackers clone visual design perfectly but cannot clone a domain name. Before typing a password, read the address bar from right to left: the part immediately before the first slash is the real site. Everything else is decoration.
Treat downloads as decisions
Download software from the vendor’s own site or an official app store. Search results and aggregator sites frequently serve bundled installers that add unwanted extras. If a download starts without you clicking, cancel it.
Assume public Wi-Fi is watched
Hotel, airport and café networks are shared spaces. A VPN encrypts your traffic so other users on the same network cannot inspect it. Turning the VPN on automatically for untrusted networks is the least disruptive way to stay covered.
Everyday habits worth building
Small, repeatable habits beat occasional big clean-ups.
- Use a password manager for every account
- Turn on two-factor authentication for email and banking first
- Keep browsers and operating systems on automatic updates
- Review installed extensions twice a year
- Never approve a login prompt you did not trigger
- Log out of shared or borrowed devices