There are 27 Key things you can do today that will strengthen your personal Cyber Security Defenses.

1. Always patch your operating system and all applications on all devices, workstations, laptops, tablets, Cell Phones.
2. Use strong passwords
3. Don’t reuse passwords. Keep unique passwords for each site or application.
4. Use 2 Factor Authentication.
5. Encrypt your computers. You can use Vera crypt, Symantec PGP, Bit locker. Full Disk Encryption is what you need in case your device is compromised.
6. Use a BIOS Password. That prevents someone from loading a boot-able Linux distribution disk and reading all of the data off your hard drive.
7. Use a VPN.
8. Delete any old emails especially if the information is sensitive.
9. Physical security is important, don’t leave your computers unattended.
10. Be careful when opening attachments and only open emails from known or trusted senders.
11. Do not enable macros on any documents opened in an email. Open the document in protected view.
12. Don’t send sensitive information electronically unless you can verify who the sender that is requesting it is.
13. Use a static DNS Server entry for example you can use Googles DNS Servers - 8.8.8.8. This will help prevent browser hijacking sessions and browser redirects.
14. Use HTTPS whenever possible and if the site you are going to has an invalid or corrupt security certificate it’s best not to go to that site.
15. Use updated antivirus and anti-malware programs and run regular scans.
16. Don’t provide too much personal information in your online profiles in LinkedIn or Facebook or any online sites.
17. Limit the amount of personal information you give out, for example avoid giving out your address or phone number if not needed.
18. Don’t visit unfamiliar sites.
19. Be careful when typing in the URL, if you are not sure, then do a google search for the exact URL as some sites take advantage and prey on typo squatting techniques.
20. Try to use Chrome instead of Firefox or IE. It can have better security. This is a personal preference though.
21. Make regular online or cloud based backups of your data.
22. Don’t install unnecessary software on your computer.
23. Disable unnecessary services.
24. Don’t login to your computer as a local admin, login as a standard user.
25. Use strong passwords on your router and disable remote administration of your router, update the firmware on your router, change the default SSID of your home wireless network and set the SSID to not broadcast.
26. Don’t give your credentials to anyone. If a visitor, friend or relative need to use your computer setup a temporary account with a strong password NOT The same password you are using for your login of course!
27. Don’t write down your password anywhere.