Security: How-to stay safe online

Once you are online, it’s important that you stay safe.

To protect yourself, it is important that you follow some simple safety rules. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)has lots of advice and information.

Here are some top tips to help you stay safe online:

Use strong passwords

Having a strong and separate password for your email means that if cyber criminals steal the password for one of your less-important accounts, they can’t use it to access your email account. The NCSC encourages people to use password managers, which can create strong passwords for you (and remember them).

If you have re-used your email password across other accounts, change your email password as soon as possible. It should be strong and different to all your other accounts.

Ideally, you should use unique passwords for all your important online accounts (such as banking accounts, shopping/payment accounts and social media accounts).

Further information can be found on the NSCS website.

Install software updates

You should apply updates to your apps and your device's software as soon as they are available. Updates include protection from viruses and other kinds of malware, and will often include improvements and new features.

If you receive a prompt to update your device (or apps), don’t ignore it. Applying these updates is one of the most important (and quickest) things you can do to keep yourself safe online.

You should also turn on 'automatic updates' in your device's settings, if available. This will mean you do not have to remember to apply updates.

More information on this can be found on the NSCS website.

Be aware of cyber risks

It’s important to be aware of illegal attempts to obtain your personal information in order to steal passwords, data or money. The most common risks are:

• Hacking

• Phishing emails - if you receive a suspicious ‘phishing’ email, you can ‘forward’ them to report@phishing.gov.uk and the NCSC will investigate

• Malicious software

Resources, advice and guidance

There are lots of websites offering advice and support to help you stay safe online: