5 ways to protect yourself online

Learn simple methods for protecting your privacy, online accounts, computers, and mobile devices from hackers, malware, and intrusive advertising

By Jon Henshaw
08/6/2023 (Last updated on 03/26/2024)

There are more online threats than ever, but there are also better and easier ways to protect yourself. Here are five proven methods and one bonus recommendation – all of which I use personally – to help you protect your online accounts and devices.

1. Use unique passwords
2. Use two-factor authentication (2FA)
3. Use masked email addresses
4. Use DNS that protects from malware
5. Use VPN software
6. Bonus: Use an online backup service

Use unique passwords

Using the same password for multiple accounts makes all of those accounts vulnerable to unauthorized access. That’s because if one of your accounts is cracked and the password is discovered, hackers can use it to access your other accounts. The best way to create, manage, and use unique passwords is with a password manager like 1Password.

Use two-factor authentication (2FA)

Unique passwords are essential but aren’t enough to fully protect online accounts. You should also set up two-factor authentication, commonly referred to as 2FA. 2FA requires an additional step to log into an account. The second step is typically a code sent to your phone or email address or generated from a password manager like 1Password.

Use masked email addresses

When you use the same email address for every account, sites can share it with other companies. Those companies can then profile you online, know about the sites and services you use, know what you’ve bought online, and target you with ads. To protect your privacy, you should use a masked email address for every account. Fastmail supports creating masked email addresses, and it’s fully integrated into 1Password.

Use DNS that protects from malware

One of the simplest ways to protect yourself from malware online is to use Cloudflare’s free 1.1.1.1 DNS service for Families. Adding the DNS servers 1.1.1.2 and 1.0.0.2 to your computer’s network settings or Wi-Fi router will automatically protect your desktop and mobile devices from malware. Alternatively, you can use Cloudflare’s WARP app, which will automatically use those DNS servers and make sites load faster.

Use VPN software

When you surf the web from home, your IP address is exposed to the sites you visit, and the sites you visit are exposed to your internet service provider. Additionally, when you surf the web on a desktop or mobile device using a public Wi-Fi connection, they, too, can track what you do online. The best way to keep where you surf private is to use a virtual private network (VPN). And the best VPN to use, which is the one I use, is NordVPN.

Bonus: Use an online backup service

Protecting yourself with the methods described in this article will significantly reduce privacy and malware threats. However, there will always be a chance that your computer gets hacked and has irreplaceable documents and photos permanently deleted. As a failsafe, I recommend using the online backup service Backblaze. It runs in the background and automatically keeps your entire computer backed up in the cloud. And it has an optional ’forever’ version history so you can restore all of your files in case of a ransomware attack.

Jon Henshaw

Jon Henshaw is the founder of Coywolf and an industry veteran with almost three decades of SEO, digital marketing, and web technologies experience. Follow @[email protected]