Common Sense: Basic Security Principles

Often, when learning about security online, people say “just use common sense”. But what do they mean by that?

Don’t click on shady links

But what makes a link shady? Detecting it is a skill that can be practiced! There are great exercises to help you learn how to spot phishing links:

• https://www.opendns.com/phishing-quiz/
• https://phishingquiz.withgoogle.com/
• https://www.phishingbox.com/phishing-test
• https://www.sonicwall.com/phishing-iq-test/

Avoid downloading software from random websites and torrents

Follow the money: why would someone give you something for free? Often times, it’s because they want to install malware on your computer.

Use a password manager

Password managers have come a long way in the last few years. They’re easy to use, are integrated directly into your browser and can also generate your 2FA tokens. Here are a few popular ones:

• 1Password: expensive but very user-friendly
• Bitwarden: affordable with lots of features
• KeePassXC: free and open-source

Keep your software up to date

Clicking “remind me tomorrow” in perpetuity is not a good idea. Software updates often contain security patches that fix vulnerabilities. If you don’t update, you’re leaving yourself open to attack.

Our free desktop app can help you with this: it reminds you if your most used software is out of date.

Enable all security features that come with your computer

Macs have great security out-of-the-box. Linux too. Even Windows has improved a lot in the last few years.

Make sure you’re using all the security features available to you! Our free desktop app can help you with this: it periodically checks that all security features are enabled.