Top 10 simple steps for keeping your laptop secure in 2021
Nowadays the internet is a risky spot due to a lot of trafficking and malware. By taking some basic preventive measures the threat of online spam can be lessened. Security is a way to restrict the weakness from being revealed. So, here I discussed some top 10 simple steps for keeping your laptop secure in 2021. Each will be discussed in detail below.
- Set the complex password
- Update your system
- Install the antivirus software
- Use hard disk encryption
- Enable multi-step verification
- Get a Virtual private network (VPN)
- Avoid opening the scam links
- Clear the browsing history
- Don’t activate the ‘save password’ feature
- Consider your laptop’s physical privacy
Set the complex password
Passwords are considered your first-line security. The complexity of passwords ensures the security of your laptop. Always try to use a different and complex password for each account. Don’t use your birthdays, the name of your pets, or the loved ones that can be guessed easily. The password must be eight characters long containing all uppercase, lowercase letters, and numerals. If you feel difficulty in memorizing complex passwords, you should go for the password manager apps. Most of these apps are free and you only need to remember the app password. You can directly be logged in to your account by opening the app. It can’t only help to keep you safer but also speed up your productivity and work efficiency.
Update your system
An updated system is difficult to approach by hackers. The most reliable way to keep your laptop away from malware is to update your system and software. Window 10 is offering an auto-update system already featured, all you need is a good internet connection to download the updates. Ensure that your laptop’s auto-update option is active and all the apps are up to date to take advantage of an advanced security system.
Install the antivirus software
The antivirus software is designed to detect and eliminate malware from your laptop. Without any antivirus program, your laptop is vulnerable to many threats and viruses. This software ensures malware protection, spam protection, web protection, firewall features and it’s also cost-effective. The antivirus software provides better protection than window defenders. Here I listed some top antivirus software in 2021.
- Bitdefender
- Norton
- McAFee
- Avira
- Bullguard
- Panda
Use hard disk encryption
The password protection is not enough, because if your laptop is stolen or misplaced the hackers can remove the hardware and read all the information. So you need to encrypt the hard disk, to protect your data present in the drive. In windows, the encryption is done by BitLocker and in mac using Filevault.
Enable multi-step verification
Some websites offer multi-step verification that took some extra time but acts as a booster to your laptop security. Multi-step verification means you need to go through a few extra protection covers along with username and password, to move into your account. This additional verification comprises fingerprints, facial recognition and a code send to the mobile number or email address to verify the login. If the account contains some personal or sensitive information, it is recommended to enable multi-step verification to keep your laptop secure in 2021.
Get a virtual private network
While using a public Wi-Fi connection use a VPN service (virtual private service) to protect laptop privacy and deny the access provider to track your browsing history. VPN encrypts the trafficking between the user and the VPN server to make it infeasible to track your activity. Because it’s better to use a reliable tracker with a trusted privacy policy than any suspicious source. So using VPN no one can snoop your data even the WI-FI owner.
VPN does not show your IP address, so the hackers that are trying to approach you by IP address will just be able to see the VPN Company address. You can also approach the unavailable sites in your region or country by just spoofing your location. To communicate securely some activists and journalists in repressive countries also use VPN technology.
Avoid opening spam links
Unusual attachment and spam links showing in your emails, apps, and on different websites are the other technique used by hackers to approach your data. So to keep your laptop secure in 2021 avoid opening such spam web links from the unauthentic source.
Clear the browsing history
Are you aware that your internet cache has a lot of information about you? That saved cache saved cookies and websites browsing history could lead to personal information including your family data and home address.
For better protection delete all the information found in your cache and browsing history on a daily basis. By simply pressing the ctrl+shift+del keys you can clear the cache in your Opera, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, and Firefox.
Don’t activate the ‘save password’ feature
Most browsers have built in password management tricks. This website offers you to save your username and password for a specific account. We are not recommending to enable such a type of feature and let this task be handed over to the password manager. It is found as a more reliable option than the featuring websites.
Consider your laptop’s physical privacy
The physical security of laptops is equally important as cybersecurity. Here I listed some points to protect your laptop from any physical damage.
Firstly, you must have a secure and durable zipper laptop bag. Much consider the bags having the padding around the laptop sleeves for protection, if you mistakenly drop your bag. In case you are residing in a country having rainy weather so go for the waterproof bags.
If you are working in any public place and want to hide the information from others, you must have a privacy screen protector that works as a privacy filter to limit your screen viewings angles. Also having a long-lasting laptop can be a bonus to this.
Conclusion
It is necessary to keep your laptop secure and safe from any digital and physical hacker. In a technological era, we must be well aware of the cybersecurity habit to make this place reliable to work. I hope the above-mentioned steps will help you to keep your laptop secure in 2021.
