7 effective ways to make your life more secure and private online

Some hackers may try to send you phishing emails or messages that contain malicious links or attachments. If you click on them, they can install malware on your device and access your personal information.

Some websites may have security breaches that expose your data to unauthorized parties. This can put you at risk of identity theft, fraud, or other problems.

 

7. Use a webcam cover

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Credit: CloudValley

This camera works for Mac and PC laptops and even works on iPhone cameras as well. Simply align it to your webcam, attach, and press firmly for 15 seconds to begin using it. It will not interfere with the function of your webcam or the indicator light. At the time of publishing, this product had over 43,000 global reviews on Amazon with 80% giving it 5 stars.

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6. Adjusting phone privacy settings on Android and iPhone

There are some quick settings on your phone you can change to drastically increase your safety. However, some of them are tucked away in hard-to-find locations. In this section, we will guide you to which settings you should adjust and how to find them.

 

Enhanced Safe Browsing on Android

Enhanced Safe Browsing is a feature in Google Chrome that provides alerts about potential malware, risky extensions, and sites that are labeled as unsafe. It detects when you might be in danger online and warns you in advance.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

  • Open up Chrome on your phone
  • Tap the three-dot menu icon in the app’s upper-right corner
  • Scroll down and select “Settings” from the menu that comes up
  • Tap “Privacy and security,” then select “Safe Browsing
  • Tap the dot next to “Enhanced protection”

 

Suspicious message protection on Android

This setting, in conjunction with enabling spam protection, is a great way to potentially avoid spam and malicious messages. Here are the steps for Android 13, the latest version of the operating system.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

  • Go to the Settings app
  • Next, scroll down and tap on Biometrics & security 
  • Then tap advanced settings
  • Enable suspicious message alerts 

If you have an older version of Android, you may need to follow these steps to enable suspicious message alerts. If you have Android 12 or lower, you can enable spam protection.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

  • Open the Messages app
  • Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner
  • Tap Settings
  • Then tap Spam Protection

 

Enable spam protection on Android

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

  • Open the Messages app 
  • Tap the three-dot menu at the right of the search bar,
  • Tap Settings
  • Then tap “Spam protection”
  • Set the ON/OFF slider to the ON position

 

Turn on near-field communication (NFC) protection on Android 

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

 

Two-factor authentication on iPhone

Two-factor authentication is extremely helpful on any device. It increases online security greatly and makes life difficult for hackers. When signing into accounts, you may need to enter an additional code, but the extra time is a small price to pay for the safety it provides. To enable it, follow these steps:

  • Go to the Settings app and tap on your name at the top
  • Tap on Sign-In & Security
  • Tap Two-Factor authentication and make sure it is turned on
  • Adjust your trusted phone number below to what number you want to receive the codes
  • Go to Settings > Passwords > Password options
  • Scroll down to the Verification Codes section and enable Clean Up Automatically

This will allow you to use two-factor authentication to sign in to your Apple ID account and access your iCloud data. You will receive a verification code on your trusted phone number whenever you sign in from a new device or browser.

The verification codes will be automatically deleted from your Messages and Mail apps after you use them. This feature was introduced in iOS 17 and is not available in previous versions.

 

Disable GPS tracking on iPhone 

  • Click on any app to adjust whether or not they have access to your location
  • Under ALLOW LOCATION ACCESS, tap Never

 

Checking your passwords on iPhone

 

5. Update your Facebook Settings

Clear tracking data on Facebook

  • Click on Your Facebook information tab on the left and click Off-Facebook activity
  • Click Disconnect specific activity and enter your password, then tap Continue
  • Tick off anything you don’t want to have your information and confirm by tapping Continue

 

Limit data collection by Facebook

  • Remove any apps or services associated with your Facebook account that you don’t want to have access to your personal information by clicking Remove next to the app or website. Then click Remove again to confirm

 

Adjust profile privacy settings on Facebook 

  • Go to your activity and change “Who can see the people, Pages, and lists you follow?” to only me
  • Scroll down to How people find and contact you and adjust each setting to the privacy level you want

MORE: IT’S TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR ONLINE PRIVACY WITH AMAZON

 

4. Adjust your Google privacy settings

Follow the steps on this page to navigate all of Google’s privacy settings

 

3. Keeping your email safe

Create alias email addresses

Control spam – How to create a quick alias email address

 

2. Get a VPN 

Best VPNs for browsing the web privately 2023

 

 

1. Have good antivirus software on all your devices 

Special for CyberGuy Readers: 

Best Antivirus Protection 2023

 

Kurt’s key takeaways

With growing breakthroughs in technology comes more ways our privacy and security are compromised. Do you believe it’s getting safer or more dangerous online?

FOR MORE OF MY TECH TIPS AND SECURITY ALERTS, SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE CYBERGUY REPORT NEWSLETTER HERE

 

Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

 

 

 

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