Introduction

As technology advances and we adopt new cloud-based services, wearables, fitness trackers, smart home appliances, and cars, we need to balance our rapid consumption of technology with vital knowledge of how safely to use, maintain, and protect these Internet-connected products.

Protecting our identities from the onslaught of endless cyber scams and hackers has become an exhausting effort. It can feel like we need a technical degree to defend ourselves and our families from cybersecurity attacks and ensure we're secure in our day-to-day personal and professional lives. Since we don't hear these cyberattacks knocking at our door or receive real-time evidence of our sensitive information circulating the underbelly of the Web, it's hard to grasp how vulnerable we are at any given moment. In this book you learn how to find your exposed information on the Internet-and discover you've been breached-it can feel like there's nothing you can do to protect your and your family's leaked Social Security numbers, passwords, and more. I am here to tell you there is hope. In this book, you'll learn to practice the essential cybersecurity habits to protect your family from bad actors.

Technology advancement brings opportunities, but it also creates risk, making it necessary to teach ourselves proper "use, care, and feeding" of our devices. If we don't, we risk significant exposure in many areas of our life. Similar to caring for ourselves, we must practice proper "cyber hygiene" with websites, software, and devices.

We know we spend a ton of time online, but we may not realize how our heavy Internet usage can increase our risk of falling victim to cybercriminals. It's as easy as visiting a website with infected ads that harvest our computer's CPU power, so bad actors can "mine" highly profitable Bitcoin cryptocurrency, typing credit card numbers into legitimate-looking, spoofed websites, or accidentally downloading ransomware from a linked "Funny Cat Video" our "friend" sent us. We devote a lot of time and energy to these online interactions. If we neglect the "use, care, and feeding" of technology and our presence in cyberspace, we risk letting bad actors run rampant-infecting and sabotaging our cyber comforts, wiping out years of family photos and personal files to ransomware demands in the thousands of dollars, or repeatedly using and abusing our identity.

If we lived in a "bad" neighborhood with a high level of crime, we would take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves, our family, and our belongings. We are mindful of our surroundings-we lock our doors, install extra locks, don't carry loads of cash on us, and so forth. However, when we are in a good neighborhood with low crime, we tend to be more relaxed around our physical safety precautions.

When it comes to our cyber lives-we all live in a bad neighborhood. And we all need to practice essential cyberhygiene precautions, or else we play a risky game of cyber roulette to see how much we think we can get away with before the neighborhood bad actors succeed in their cyberattacks against us. Then it's game over-or, at the least, we experience a lot of unnecessary frustration, embarrassment, expense, and cleanup.

This is not said to scare you-it is to help prepare you to have the right mind-set when you are online. My primary goal is to share real stories of people like you-victims of common cyberattacks-and then provide specific recommendations you can use to protect yourself against cyberattacks and scams. The secret to practicing cybersecurity is what I call "Brilliance in the Basics"-five crucial cybersecurity habits that I recommend you perform regularly.

Brilliance in the Basics habits

1. Update Your Devices
2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication
3. Use a Password Manager
4. Install and Update Antivirus
5. Back Up Your Data

Performing these five basic, recurring cyberhygiene principles will work to prevent cyberattacks and serve as a cure for prevalent cybersecurity issues. I will show you how to manage your Internet presence safely, as well as your technology usage, so you can continue to enjoy the pleasures and opportunities that come with the cyberspace you love. You'll discover more about the "Brilliance in the Basics" cyberhygiene habits in Chapter 7.

Debunking Cybersecurity Myths

I will also address and dispel popular cybersecurity myths throughout the book. Recognize any of these?

Hacking Myths

• "Why bother doing anything? If a hacker wants to get me, they will. I mean huge companies and the U.S. government get hacked. I can't do anything to protect myself-it's a lost cause."
• "Bad actors aren't interested in my data. I'm not a celebrity or public figure. I don't have anything of value to them."
• "Websites wouldn't steal my computer's CPU power to 'mine' cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, just by visiting them."
• "The applications in the Apple App Store or Google Play store are safe. I can't download 'bank account-stealing' malware from a simple crossword puzzle app, can I?"
• "I'm not worried about ransomware. Law enforcement will catch the adversary and get my files back, right?"

File Storage and the Cloud Myths

• "I don't store my information in the cloud because it's not safe."
• "I store my files in the cloud already, using Apple iCloud and Google Drive. They back up my files, right?"
• "I perform backups to an external hard drive that's always plugged into my computer. My files are protected."

Password Management Myths

• "Remembering and keeping up with fancy passwords is too difficult. There's no way I can do it for every site I use."
• "Two-factor authentication takes too long. As long as I have a strong, unique password for each account, I am secure."
• "Cloud-based password managers aren't secure."

Web Browsing Myths

• "Websites with the lock symbol in the URL are safe to use."
• "Public Wi-Fi is secure if it requires a password."

Email Account Myths

• "It's not necessary for me to create a separate email just for banking if I have a strong password for my bank account, even if I use the same password for my email account too."
• "I don't have anything of interest to the adversary in my email account. Good luck reading all my boring emails."
• "Email providers like Google or Yahoo aren't making money from my email conversation with my spouse."

Identity Theft Myths

• "Credit monitoring and fraud alerts will protect me from identity theft. I don't need to activate a security freeze."
• "My child doesn't have a credit history. Their identity won't get stolen, and their credit score won't be damaged."
• "I don't shred sensitive documents when I throw them out. No one would sift through my garbage to steal my identity."
• "I connect with anyone who sends me a friend request on LinkedIn. We're all professionals here, not scammers."
• "I trust my doctor's office with my Social Security number when they request it. They need it for vital reasons, right?"
• "I can't be denied critical medication at a hospital just because someone stole my identity and tampered with my medical files, can I?"
• "I trust retailers and gas stations to protect their card swipe, or dip, machines from skimmers that steal card numbers."

By learning the facts, you can set the record straight and safeguard yourself and your family. Cyber awareness will be like second nature.

In fact, let's dive in and dispel one myth right now.

• Myth   "Why bother doing anything? If a hacker wants to get me, they will. I mean huge companies and the U.S. government get hacked. I can't do anything to protect myself-it's a lost cause."
• Fact   You can safeguard yourself from the vast majority of threats. It takes only a few steps, which I list in the ensuing chapters. By learning to protect yourself, you will take a "bite" out of cybercrime. You'll emerge a newfound "Brilliance in the Basics" expert and be ready to share your learned cybersecurity hygiene basics with others.

  We need to work together to defend our privacy, security, money, and peace of mind. It's our right to enjoy what technology and the Internet have to offer. The last thing we should do is to admit defeat and compromise these fundamental liberties by surrendering our security and, along with it, our personal information, assets, and identity.

Protecting our security does not necessarily mean we have something to hide; it's the preservation of our identities and those of our loved ones. This includes our money, medical records, credit files, devices, online presence, and...