Protecting yourself online is a full-time job

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Protecting yourself online is a full-time job. Here are the ways that I stay safe.

  1. I use Brave browser. It has built-in privacy and tracking and it reduces the number of ways that attackers can compromise your system. I have used it for 4 years and never had an issue. If you aren’t using Brave you are risking your internet safety.
  2. I use a Mac computer. Windows computers have too many holes, and there is a lot of legacy software on Windows computers that make them hard to secure. For personal use, I surf on a Mac and keep a PC around if I need it for business purposes.
  3.  I always run Anti-virus/malware software. I have used every Mac anti-virus available and they all work but they all have issues. Currently, I am using Windows Defender for Mac which works surprisingly well. Since I also have an Intune/MEM setup for personal use I can use this to help secure my system further.
  4. As I said before I am using Intune for personal use and bought a Microsoft business premium license. I doubt most people will do this, but if you do, you can increase the security further with the features that are built into that account. In addition, you can get the newest versions of applications that further protect your computer.
  5. I doubt people who contact me online. On LinkedIn, I get spammers frequently contacting me and pretending to be people they are not. It is obvious and I block and report those people. I block and report anyone who is doing illegal things.
  6. I keep my computers/iPhones up to date. I am meticulous about keeping up with the newest versions which block known issues. I regularly investigate the software that I use to see if there have been any known hacks or issues and stop using it when that happens.
  7. I look for ways to increase the security of what I use. I use a password manager called 1Password which works great. I have really enjoyed using it.
  8. I don’t save passwords in my browser since 1Password works so well in the browser.
  9. I have a spare virtual machine setup so if I need to look at something that I think might be suspicious I can do it in that environment if I need to. I tend to open suspicious things on the iPhone since it has less of the technology needed for most suspicious messages. This is sometimes required for work reasons.
  10. I regularly read about scams/security issues each day to stay on top of what is the current state of the environment.
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Now no one is perfect and I once responded to a fake text message that was from a scammer. However once I realized it was a scammer I reported it to security, blocked the number, and reported the scam call. You can know many things and still make a mistake.