There are a lot of different security guides, but I think that in terms of trying to balancing being comprehensive, accessible, and directly actionable, Zebra Crossing is amongst the better guides out there. Who’s it for?
1. You use the internet on a day-to-day basis – for work, social media, financial transactions, etc.
2. You feel you could be doing more to ensure your digital safety and privacy, but you’re not in immediate danger. (If you are, seek out an expert for a one-on-one consult.)
3. You’re comfortable with technology. For example, you’re comfortable going into the settings section of your computer/smartphone.
How should it be used?
1. Recommendations have been sorted in ascending levels of difficulty. Start from level one and work your way up!
2. Everyone should follow the recommendations in levels one and two. They will protect you from the widely-used (yet simple) attacks. Going through them shouldn’t take more than 1-2 hours.
3. Level three is a bit more involved in terms of time and money and may not be 100% necessary. But if you’re worried at all and can afford to, we recommend going through that list too. Depending on the amount of digital housekeeping you have to do, it may take anywhere from an hour to an afternoon.
4. The scenarios listed after are for higher-stakes situations — scan them to see if any of them apply to you. (Because the stakes are higher, they assume that you’ve done everything in levels 1-3.)
Another great resource is Consumer Reports’ Security Planner. While it’s not designed to comprehensively guide you through upgrading your security profile, it is probably even better for helping individuals improve specific security practices.
Excited Pixels 