Being smart and secure online

Most of us are connected digitally on a daily basis, and unfortunately the risk of cyberattacks is ever present. So it’s important to stay alert and vigilant to the potential threats that exist. That’s why Google supports Stay Smart Online Week, which is all about reversing the threat of cybercrime.

Today, there are more than 1400 partners of Stay Smart Online Week working to raise awareness about cybersecurity across Australia, sharing tips and resources to better protect individuals, families, communities, and businesses of all sizes.

Google services have built-in security infrastructure to detect and prevent online threats, helping to keep users' personal information secure. Gmail protects users from spam, phishing, and malware by analysing patterns in billions of messages to identify characteristics of emails that users marked as spam. These markers help to block 99.9 percent of suspicious or dangerous emails before they ever reach you. Google Play Protect is built in to Android devices and scans apps before, during, and after download to ensure users have the latest in mobile security and to keep devices and user data secure.

Google also provides tips and tools to help users learn about privacy and security and protect their personal information.

• Google’s Privacy Checkup: We build easy-to-use privacy tools into Google Account to give users control over their privacy settings. Google’s Privacy Checkup also makes it easy to choose and adjust privacy settings. In just a few minutes, you can manage what data is collected and update what you share publicly and with friends. You can change these settings as often as you want and even have regular reminders sent to help keep current settings in mind.
• Google’s Security Checkup: This step-by-step tool gives personalised and actionable security recommendations for Google Account settings. You can review and manage your Google account security settings, like verify that your account recovery information is up to date and review the websites, apps, and devices connected to your account. Like the Privacy Checkup, Google’s Security Checkup takes just a few minutes and can be taken as often as you like.
• Strong password security: Creating a strong, unique password is one of the most critical steps you can take to protect your online accounts. Consider taking a long sentence or phrase that you won’t forget and building a password with the first letters of each word.
• Use unique passwords and keep track of them: Using the same password across your accounts increases your security risk. Creating a unique password for each account eliminates this risk and keeps your accounts more secure. A password manager, like Smart Lock in Chrome, helps you safeguard and keep track of all the passwords for your different online accounts.
• Lock down your phone if you lose it: If your phone is ever lost or stolen, you can visit your Google Account and select “Find your phone” to protect your data. Whether you have an Android or iOS device, you can remotely locate and lock your phone so that no one else can use your phone and access your personal information.

Being aware of the controls available to you and taking steps to protect your devices and online accounts can help you stay secure online. If we all take action, we can help to boost Australia’s cyber resilience and reverse the threat of cybercrime.