How to avoid getting hacked

APC’s Editor Dan Gardiner reveals what he does to secure his digital devices.

We’ve probably all been guilty of it at one point or other, but the honest truth is that, when it comes to digital security, it’s all too easy to shove the whole thing into the too-hard basket.

However, a little bit of inconvenience can drastically decrease your chances of being compromised — and the latter is ultimately a much more painful (and often costly) situation to find yourself in. If you’ve travelled overseas post-9/11 you’ll no doubt have been scanned, swabbed and occasionally prodded before you fly and compared to all that, digital security is a whole lot less bothersome.

Stolen credentials are usually sold in bundles of hundreds or even thousands, so individually they’re not very valuable. In most situations, hackers won’t waste time trying to crack individual user accounts — so you’re far less likely to find yourself the victim of hacking if you make yourself a slightly harder target.

A lot of security solutions are literally ‘set and forget’. To cover the basics, here’s what I would personally recommend: Windows or Mac: As the most-used OS in the world, Windows is a huge target for virus makers. However, the Mac is becoming tempting for cyber criminals too, so no matter what desktop OS you’re running you should install a security suite, even if it’s just a free one. Android: Your vulnerability on Android depends on a few factors — if you’ve rooted your phone and/ or you’re installing programs or games from outside the Google Play Store, then you’re more at risk than users who don’t. We recommend installing a security suite (see our reviews on page 58) and installing system updates as soon as they’re available. iOS: Apple restricts apps’ access to low-level processes, so any security software you find on the App Store is snake oil. However, it’s not bulletproof, so you should make sure you update the OS when new versions are released as they almost always contain security patches. Apart from dedicated antivirus software, the other basic bit of kit you should employ is a password manager. Having weak passwords and reusing the same password on multiple sites/services are surefire ways to get yourself hacked.

People often balk at the idea of a password manager because they’re conceived to be too inconvenient, but when you’re used to using one, it’s actually much easier than without.

Thankfully, most of us won’t ever be seen as juicy targets for hackers and with these steps, you can make yourself a lot less vulnerable.