Tips to Stay Safe & Secure Online - Google Safety Center

One easy way to protect your Google Account is to take the Security Checkup. This step-by-step tool gives you personalized and actionable recommendations to ... Toolsandtipstohelpyoustaysafeonline. Weautomaticallyprotectyourprivacywithindustry-leadingsecurity.Thereareafewadditionalstepsthatyoucantaketomanageyouronlinesecurityandchoosetherightlevelofprotectionforyou. StrengthenthesecurityofyourGoogleAccount. SecurityCheckup TaketheSecurityCheckup OneeasywaytoprotectyourGoogleAccountistotaketheSecurityCheckup.Thisstep-by-steptoolgivesyoupersonalisedandactionablerecommendationstohelptostrengthenthesecurityofyourGoogleAccount. Completecheckup 2-STEPVERIFICATION Defendagainsthackerswith2‑StepVerification 2-StepVerificationhelpstokeepoutanyonewhoshouldn’thaveaccesstoyouraccountbyrequiringyoutouseasecondaryfactorontopofyourusernameandpasswordtologintoyouraccount.Forthosewhoareatriskoftargetedonlineattacksandneedevenstrongerprotections,we’vecreatedtheAdvancedProtectionProgramme. Get2-StepVerification ExploreAdvancedProtection Alittlehelpwithyourpasswords. Usestronganduniquepasswords Creatingastrong,uniquepasswordforeveryaccountisoneofthemostcriticalstepsthatyoucantaketoprotectyourprivacy.Usingthesamepasswordtologintomultipleaccounts,suchasyourGoogleAccount,socialmediaprofilesandretailwebsites,increasesyoursecurityrisk. Keeptrackofallyourpasswords Apasswordmanager,liketheonebuiltintoyourGoogleAccount,helpstoprotectandkeeptrackofthepasswordsthatyouuseonsitesandapps.Google’sPasswordManagerhelpstoyoucreate,rememberandsecurelystoreallyourpasswordstosafelyandeasilysignintoyouraccounts. Checkyourpasswordsforsecurityissues CheckthestrengthandsecurityofallofyoursavedpasswordswithaquickPasswordCheckup.Learnifanyofyoursavedpasswordsforthird-partysitesoraccountshavebeencompromised,andeasilychangethemifneeded. Usestronganduniquepasswords Creatingastrong,uniquepasswordforeveryaccountisoneofthemostcriticalstepsthatyoucantaketoprotectyourprivacy.Usingthesamepasswordtologintomultipleaccounts,suchasyourGoogleAccount,socialmediaprofilesandretailwebsites,increasesyoursecurityrisk. Keeptrackofallyourpasswords Apasswordmanager,liketheonebuiltintoyourGoogleAccount,helpstoprotectandkeeptrackofthepasswordsthatyouuseonsitesandapps.Google’sPasswordManagerhelpstoyoucreate,rememberandsecurelystoreallyourpasswordstosafelyandeasilysignintoyouraccounts. Checkyourpasswordsforsecurityissues CheckthestrengthandsecurityofallofyoursavedpasswordswithaquickPasswordCheckup.Learnifanyofyoursavedpasswordsforthird-partysitesoraccountshavebeencompromised,andeasilychangethemifneeded. Keepyourdevicessecure. Lockdownyourphoneifyouloseit Ifyourphoneiseverlostorstolen,youcanvisityourGoogleAccountandselect'Findyourphone'toprotectyourdatainafewquicksteps.WhetheryouhaveanAndroidoriOSdevice,youcanremotelylocateandlockyourphonesothatnooneelsecanuseyourphoneoraccessyourpersonalinformation. Maintainup-to-datesoftware Reviewthesoftwarethatyouuseregularlytomakesurethatyouarealwaysrunningthelatestversionavailable.Someservices,includingtheChromebrowser,canupdateautomaticallysoyouhavethelatestsecurityfeaturesandfixes. Blockpotentiallyharmfulappsfromyourphone WetakecareofyourdevicewithGooglePlayProtect,Google’sbuilt-inmalwareprotectionforAndroid,butyoushouldalwaysdownloadyourmobileappsfromasourcethatyoutrust.Tokeepyourdataprotected,reviewyourappsanddeleteonesthatyoudon’tuse,enableappauto-updates,andlimitappaccesstosensitivedatalikeyourlocationandphotos. Useascreenlock Whenyouarenotusingyourcomputer,laptop,tabletorphone,lockyourscreentokeepothersfromgettingintoyourdevice.Foraddedsecurity,setyourdevicetoautomaticallylockwhenitgoestosleep. 0 1 2 3 Browsethewebsafely. Usesecurenetworks BecarefulaboutusingpublicorfreeWi-Fi,evenifitrequiresapassword.Thesenetworksmaynotbeencrypted,sowhenyouconnecttoapublicnetwork,anyoneinthevicinitymaybeabletomonitoryourInternetactivity,suchasthewebsitesthatyouvisitandtheinformationthatyoutypeintosites.IfpublicorfreeWi-Fiisyouronlyoption,theChromebrowserwillletyouknowintheaddressbarifyourconnectiontoasiteissecure.Evenathome,protecttheprivacyandsecurityofyourbrowsingactivitybymakingsurethatyourWi-Finetworkisencryptedandbysettingastrongpassword. WatchthisvideotolearnmoreabouttheimportanceofusingsecureWi-Ficonnections,andfortipsonhowtosecureyourownWi-Finetwork. Ensurethatyourconnectionissecurebeforeenteringsensitiveinformation Whenyouarebrowsingtheweb–andespeciallyifyouplantoentersensitiveinformationsuchasapasswordorcreditcardnumber–makesurethattheconnectiontothesitesthatyouvisitissecure.IfitisasecureURL,theChromebrowserwillshowagrey,fullylockediconintheURLfield.HTTPShelpstokeepyourbrowsingsafebysecurelyconnectingyourbrowserorappwiththewebsitesthatyouvisit. GoogleLocationAccuracy GoogleLocationAccuracyusespubliclybroadcastWi-FidatafromwirelessaccesspointsandGPS,mobiletowerandsensordatatoimprovelocationservices.ForinstructionsonhowtooptoutyourWi-Fiaccesspointfrombeingcollected,learnmorehere. 0 1 2 Avoidonlinescamsandphishingattempts Knowhowscammersmightreachyou Scammerscantakeadvantageofgoodwillbydisguisingtheirscamsaslegitimatemessages.Alongsideemails,scammersmayalsousetextmessages,automatedcallsandmaliciouswebsitestoexploityou. AlwaysvalidatesuspiciousURLsorlinks Phishingisanattempttotrickyouintorevealingcriticalpersonalorfinancialinformation,likeapasswordorbankdetails.Itcantakemanyforms,suchasafakeloginpage.Toavoidgettingphished,neverclickonquestionablelinks;double-checktheURL—byhoveringoverthelinkorlong-pressingthetextonmobile—tomakesurethatthewebsiteorappislegitimate;andmakesurethattheURLbeginswith'https'. Watchoutforimpersonators ScammersmightposeaslegitimateorganisationsliketheGovernmentoracharity.Alwaysproceedwithcautionwhenreadingmessagesfromsomeoneclaimingtobeanauthoritativeresource.Ifsomeonethatyouknowemailsyoubutthemessageseemsodd,theiraccountmayhavebeenhacked.Don’treplytothemessageorclickanylinksunlessyoucanconfirmtheemailislegitimate.Lookoutforthingslikeurgentrequestsformoney,sobstoriesaboutbeingstrandedabroad,orthepersonclaimingthattheirphonewasstolenandcannotbecalled. Bewareofemailscamsorrequestsforpersonalinformation Messagesfromstrangerscanbesuspect,andevenacommunicationfromsomeonethatyoutrust,likeyourbank,mightbeanimpersonation.Don'treplytosuspiciousemails,instantmessagesorpop-upwindowsthataskforpersonalinformation.Neverclicksuspiciouslinksorenterpersonalinformationinquestionableformsorsurveys.Ifaskedtodonatetocharity,godirectlytotheorganisation'swebsitetodonateratherthanclickingonthelinksenttoyou. Double-checkfilesbeforedownloading SomesophisticatedphishingattackscanoccurthroughinfecteddocumentsandPDFattachments.Ifyoucomeacrossasuspiciousattachment,useChromeorGoogleDrivetoopenit.We’llautomaticallyscanthefileandwarnyouifwedetectavirus. Knowhowscammersmightreachyou Scammerscantakeadvantageofgoodwillbydisguisingtheirscamsaslegitimatemessages.Alongsideemails,scammersmayalsousetextmessages,automatedcallsandmaliciouswebsitestoexploityou. AlwaysvalidatesuspiciousURLsorlinks Phishingisanattempttotrickyouintorevealingcriticalpersonalorfinancialinformation,likeapasswordorbankdetails.Itcantakemanyforms,suchasafakeloginpage.Toavoidgettingphished,neverclickonquestionablelinks;double-checktheURL—byhoveringoverthelinkorlong-pressingthetextonmobile—tomakesurethatthewebsiteorappislegitimate;andmakesurethattheURLbeginswith'https'. Watchoutforimpersonators ScammersmightposeaslegitimateorganisationsliketheGovernmentoracharity.Alwaysproceedwithcautionwhenreadingmessagesfromsomeoneclaimingtobeanauthoritativeresource.Ifsomeonethatyouknowemailsyoubutthemessageseemsodd,theiraccountmayhavebeenhacked.Don’treplytothemessageorclickanylinksunlessyoucanconfirmtheemailislegitimate.Lookoutforthingslikeurgentrequestsformoney,sobstoriesaboutbeingstrandedabroad,orthepersonclaimingthattheirphonewasstolenandcannotbecalled. Bewareofemailscamsorrequestsforpersonalinformation Messagesfromstrangerscanbesuspect,andevenacommunicationfromsomeonethatyoutrust,likeyourbank,mightbeanimpersonation.Don'treplytosuspiciousemails,instantmessagesorpop-upwindowsthataskforpersonalinformation.Neverclicksuspiciouslinksorenterpersonalinformationinquestionableformsorsurveys.Ifaskedtodonatetocharity,godirectlytotheorganisation'swebsitetodonateratherthanclickingonthelinksenttoyou. Double-checkfilesbeforedownloading SomesophisticatedphishingattackscanoccurthroughinfecteddocumentsandPDFattachments.Ifyoucomeacrossasuspiciousattachment,useChromeorGoogleDrivetoopenit.We’llautomaticallyscanthefileandwarnyouifwedetectavirus. Exploremorewaysthatwekeepyousafeonline. Built-insecurity Learnmoreaboutourautomaticsecurityprotections. Privacycontrols Choosetheprivacysettingsthatarerightforyou. Datapractices Learnmoreabouthowwerespectyourprivacywithresponsibledatapractices. Adsanddata Learnmoreabouttheadsthatyouseeonourplatforms. Built-insecurity Learnmoreaboutourautomaticsecurityprotections. Privacycontrols Choosetheprivacysettingsthatarerightforyou. Datapractices Learnmoreabouthowwerespectyourprivacywithresponsibledatapractices. Adsanddata Learnmoreabouttheadsthatyouseeonourplatforms. 0 1 2 3 Notallproductsorfeaturesmaybeavailableinalllocations.