Protect your digital life: Key strategies for online safety

We all know how ingrained the internet has become in day-to-day life. However, as the world becomes more connected, online threats grow more and more sophisticated. This means protecting your personal and financial data is more critical than ever, but also more complicated than ever. Here are some key strategies to help you stay secure and maintain your peace of mind online: Use strong, unique passwords for every account Passwords are the first line of defence against unauthorised access to your accounts. Yet, many users still reuse simple passwords across multiple platforms, making them easy targets for hackers. To enhance your security, create strong, unique passwords for every account – combining letters, numbers and special characters. Using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords ensures that you never need to rely on memory or repetition. Password managers can be bought as standalone subscriptions, but are also normally included security suites such as Bitdefender Premium Security and Bitdefender Ultimate Security. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) Multi-factor authentication (MGA) and two-factor authentication (2FA) add an additional layer of security to your accounts by requiring a second form of verification beyond just a password. This could be a one-time code sent to your phone, a biometric scan, or an app-based authenticator. With MFA or 2FA enabled, even if your password is compromised, unauthorised access is nearly impossible without the secondary credential. Lean more about enabling MFA here. Be aware of phishing attempts Phishing is a common online threat where scammers trick users into providing sensitive information by posing as legitimate entities. These scams often appear as emails, text messages or even fake websites. To counter this threat, educate yourself in identifying phishing scams, and use detection tools like Bitdefender’s Scam Copilot, which identifies and blocks scams in your email, browser, messages