Security Tips: Protect Your Devices
The most essential piece of advice we can share is to follow these security tips and recognize the importance of protecting all your digital devices in 2026. Whether you’re looking for security tips to protect your smartphones, tablets, computers or smart home devices, we’ve got you covered.
Security Tips: Smartphones and Tablets
If you aren’t already practicing these smartphone and tablet security tips, we recommend implementing them immediately.
- Lock Devices – Always ensure your smartphone has a passcode, fingerprint or facial recognition lock. Have this lock active quickly once it detects no screen activity.
- Software Updates – Enable automatic updates and verify they are downloaded regularly. Software updates provide critical patches to help with security vulnerabilities.
- Enable 2FA/MFA Security – If available in your account settings, always enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication via text and email. This is especially critical for banking, email, utility or any other accounts that contain highly sensitive information.
- Downloading Apps – Never download an app unless it’s from an official store, such as Google Play or the Apple App Store.
- Use a VPN – Avoid connecting to public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks. If possible, use a VPN when connected to public Wi-Fi to protect your browsing.
- Back Up and Encrypt Data – Enable automatic backups for documents, contacts and photos to an external drive or the cloud, and ensure that any stored data is encrypted.
- Review Permissions – Apps will often ask for unnecessary permissions, such as microphone, photo or location access. Be very cautious about which apps you give access to this data.
- Disable Unused Features – If you’re not using Wi-Fi, location services or Bluetooth, disable them.
- Activate “Find My” – Always set up Find My iPhone or Find My Device so you can locate your phone and remotely wipe it if you lose it or it’s stolen.
- Avoid Jailbreaking Devices – While it may be tempting, jailbreaking your device makes it more vulnerable to security threats, so do so at your own risk.
Security Tips: Computers
Whether you have a desktop or a laptop, we recommend following these critical security tips to keep your device protected.
- Software Updates – Always ensure your operating system is up-to-date and enable automatic updates for all applications, browsers and operating systems.
- Firewall – Ensure a firewall is installed and active on your computer, and that your firewall software is up to date.
- Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software – Make sure that you always have antivirus and anti-malware software running, it’s up-to-date and new definitions are installed.
- Strong Passwords – Always use strong passwords for accounts that include a mix of uppercase, lowercase, symbols and numbers.
- Unique Passwords – Use unique passwords and avoid reusing them.
- Multi-Factor Authentication – Enable MFA whenever possible. Consider it an added level of security for any account.
- Phishing – Phishing is common, so avoid clicking any suspicious attachments or links you receive from unknown senders via social media, email or text.
- Secure Websites – If you’re entering personal or financial information, do so only on sites that use https:// in the URL.
- Public Wi-Fi – Be cautious when using public Wi-Fi and avoid entering any sensitive information. When possible, use a VPN.
- Social Media – Always lock down your social media personal information sharing and privacy settings.
- Backups and Encryption – Regularly back up your data to an external drive or a cloud service. Make sure any data is encrypted.
- Lock Computers – Always lock your computer and never leave it unattended in any public space.
- USB Drives – USB drives often contain malware, so avoid using any USB drive that you can’t verify.
Security Tips: Smart Home Devices
Most people think that since their smart home devices are connected to their networks, they can set them and forget them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Smart home devices are no different from smartphones or computers in that they need updated software and strong, unique passwords. In addition, we recommend the following security tips.
- Secure Wi-Fi – Make sure your Wi-Fi is secure by giving it a unique name, using strong encryption and changing your default router login.
- Guest Network – Create a guest network to minimize the risk of breaches.
- Firewall – Ensure your router’s built-in firewall is always enabled.
- Change Default Passwords – Many smart devices come with default passwords. Always change these for strong passwords and enable Multi-Factor Authentication whenever possible.
- Firmware Updates – Smart home devices require regular firmware updates. We recommend enabling auto-updates if possible.
- Settings – Always check privacy settings and disable any unnecessary features, such as remote access, if they’re not needed. For example, it’s unsafe to operate your dryer while you’re away from home, so remote access isn't necessary.
- Choose Top-Quality Brands – When selecting smart home devices, opt for well-known brands, as they often have significantly stronger security track records than unknown manufacturers.
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