Protect yourselves from Scams and Viruses!

Created 11.04.2022 based on an update from Derbyshire Constabulary

Top Tips...

• Never download anything to your home or work phone unless it is from a secure source.
• Never download anything to your laptop without checking it is legitimate first. 
• Never borrow or share external drives, storage devices or plug anything into your laptop or desktop that's not yours and yours alone. 
• Make sure you switch your device off properly at least weekly so that any patches are uploaded and your software is up to date.  

For more information please visit the National Cyber Security Centre

If in doubt, remember your A, B, C...

A - Accept nothing!

B - Believe no-one!

C - CONFIRM EVERYTHING!

Supported Operating Systems

Ensure you have an up-to-date, supported Operating System.

If you are still using Windows Vista, XP or Windows 7 you will need to upgrade immediately as these no longer receive security patches.

Anti-virus software is a must!

• Ensure laptops or computers have a default Anti-Virus running - for Windows this is Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
• The National Cyber Security Centre advises that Mac users may wish to install additional Anti-Virus for Apple Macs. Provided that android and iPhone users only install apps from Play Store and Apple store, no additional Anti-Virus is required.

Password Security:

It is not good practice to reuse passwords - you should use a different password for each platform you log into. But how to remember them all?

If you are the sole user of your device, then look into using your browser options, password hints or a Password Managers App. For more information, follow this link.

Using a Shared Computer? The National Cyber Security Centre advises that …

If you're sharing a computer in your household, either with family or housemates, then you should think about who else could access the computer (and therefore to your saved passwords), and decide if you’re ok with this. The safest option is to:

• make sure that everyone has their own account on the shared computer
• make sure that everyone logs out when they’ve finished using it

Password Top tips:

• Don’t use words, names, or information associated with yourself that may be accessible in the public domain, or easily worked out from social media content or ancestry sites. This would include maiden names, date and place of birth, children's names, pets names, teams you support, bands you like etc.
• Your most important passwords are those for your password manager and email accounts. These passwords should definitely be different from all your other passwords. Why? If a criminal can access your email account, they could:
  • access private information about you (including your banking details)
  • post emails and messages pretending to be from you (and use this to trick other people)
  • reset all your other account passwords (and get access to all your other online accounts)
• Current best practice advises using THREE RANDOM WORDS! For example, PigBallGreen. If you need to add complexity try P1gB@llGr££n!
• Always Log Out of sites and apps, do not just close the window or app – this doesn't necessarily end the session.

Remember, Passwords are like Pants!

• Should only be used once
• Should never be shared
• Should not be left out where others can see them!