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54 Security Measures That Everyone Should Take Far More Seriously, As Shared In This Thread
Security is—and always has been—a core concern for human beings. Even though we’re far less concerned about finding shelter and fending off saber-tooth tigers these days, the modern world brings a bunch of new worries, mainly due to the advances in technology.
The members of the sprawling AskReddit community recently spilled the beans about the security measures that they believe everyone should take, but often don’t. Scroll down to read their thoughts, including physical safety, how to avoid scams, and reminders to back up your important files and update your passwords.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Not posting pictures of our vacations while actively on them, wait till you’re home.
RELATED:
#2
The same people who scream the government is tracking them are the same people who will install a tracking app on their phones to get a discount at a store they visit once.
#3
Stop wearing headphones or air pods all the time. Being able to hear what's around you might save your life.
iseefractals 11 hours ago
But....air pods have transparency mode, function as surprising good hearing aids, and allow you to curate which sounds you'd like to let through even if you have ANC enabled (alarms, sirens, traffic, car horns, crying babies etc) which works very, very well. Outside of that specific use case, yeah probably good advice but not applicable in a blanket manner.
According to Statista, data breaches—security incidents that expose confidential and sensitive information to unauthorized parties—rank among the top concerns company leaders have. In the third quarter of 2024 alone, 422.61 million data records were leaked in breaches. This impacted millions of people globally.
“These incidents are complex; they impact individuals, organizations, and government entities, sometimes simultaneously. Because of how precious human attention is, companies want to have as much information as possible about consumers, and they're ready to pay a high amount of money to those who gather this information. Thus, individuals’ personal data goes a long way, and can end up in the hands of cybercriminals,” Statista explains.
AAG reports that, in 2024, data breaches cost the average business a whopping $4.88 million. In the United Kingdom, around half of all businesses experienced some form of cyber attack in 2023. In the first half of 2022, over 236 million ransomware attacks occurred around the world. And back in 2021, around half of American internet users had their accounts breached.
#4
Locking the car door as soon as you are in the car. Locking the car when you are filling up gas. Don’t leave valuables in the car overnight/lock the car. .
#5
Be aware of your surroundings when outside. Every now and again just take a glance behind you and to the sides. It's surprising the amount of people that are just oblivious to the world around them.
Geoffrey Scott 6 hours ago
Was at a sporting event, and urged al males in the group to transfer wallet to front pocket to lessen a pickpocket's ability.
#6
Please don't answer those "fun questions" on Facebook that originate from some random group you've never heard of before, like "Who was your first grade teacher?" "Your first concert?", etc. These are generally password reset questions.
Green Tree 12 hours ago
Facebook itself is very creepy, it's shocking how much personal information people put out there. I deleted in 2015 and would never go back, once the veil was pulled from my eyes on how weird and invasive Facebook is I couldn't unsee it
Cybersecurity and scams are massive concerns. The former has been an issue since the dawn of the computer age, while the latter are as old as time itself. And it’s likely that the fight against scammers and other malicious actors will never be won.
As technology improves, criminals get access to new tools and come up with new ways to weasel people out of their hard-earned cash and private data. However, security professionals come up with new security protocols, too.
Meanwhile, the general public learns about the top news scams to be wary of… while falling prey to even newer ones. It’s a never-ending battle.
#7
We should back up our files more often.
iseefractals 11 hours ago
I do not trust cloud backups. We have active files on our personal computers, which backup nightly to our NAS (raid 6, which means 2 parity drives, 2 drives can fail with out any data loss) And anything that's really super important than gets archived to another drive that is only connected long enough to copy files to. The only stuff on the system drive are files pertaining to the OS, and applications, everything else is on a separate drive (not a separate partition on the same drive as the OS, stop doing that) That's been my data safety routine for more than 25 years and I've never lost anything outside of some old save game files.
#8
Don't post photos of your kids on the internet. There was a time when it was probably fine to put those family photos up on Facebook and Instagram, but that time has passed. Just DM/email/text those to grandparents/relatives.
Earthquake903 11 hours ago
The worst is the dating profiles with them in it, I guess people don't know pedos target mates with children
#9
Don't leave stuff visible in your car. It's amazing how many people get laptops stolen because they left them on the seat of their parked car.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 3 hours ago
I've told my partner this so often that I've given up. She would always reply by saying that there was nothing of any value in the bags she left lying around in full view. I would point out that they wouldn't know that until they'd smashed the window to get the stuff, all to no avail.
One recent concern that has been popping up in casual conversations is that scammers might use artificial intelligence tools to clone your voice or those of your loved ones in order to upgrade their phone scams. Phone scammers rely on creating a sense of urgency during calls. If they have access to the voices of the people you trust, this could vastly expand the number of potential targets.
It’s one thing to hear a stranger saying they’re a relative of yours and that they’ve been in an accident. It’s another thing entirely when that stranger is generating text using your relative’s voice. In these situations, it’s probably best to hang up and reach out to your family and friends for advice. Check in with the person who’s supposedly in trouble using their actual phone, social media, or email. Scammers rely on panic to get you to make mistakes.
Staying calm and focused under stress is how you fight back. But, it’s easier said than done. You need practice. When you’re in the middle of a stressful situation, you tend to rely on your training and your gut. If your gut says that something is too good or bad to be true, then it likely is.
#10
Stop walking on the wrong side of the road. You walk *against* traffic, you bike *with* it. And don’t do it side by side. And don’t do it with headphones in, that only leaves taste, smell, and touch as your available senses to tell if a car is coming.
#11
Take your phone camera and walk through your house, recording everything. Open drawers and cabinets. Show closets. Move things around. Do this every few months. Save the video somewhere as a backup.
If you ever have a house fire or are burglarized, you now have a record of everything that was in your house at that specific time. It makes processing an insurance claim much easier.
#12
Stop giving your DNA to private companies so you can find out you're 25% Scandinavian.
What do you personally think the biggest security concerns are in this day and age, dear Pandas? What do you do to stay safe online? When was the last time somebody tried to scam you, and how did they try to trick you? Let us know in the comments! And remember—keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
#13
Not repeating passwords.
#14
The Dave Ramsey crowd will hate this one, but.. Use a credit card that has good cyber security and protections instead of your bank card for normal usage. If you get your bank card hacked they have access to your money in your account and some banks are not good about investigating and getting you it back quickly. But there are some credit card companies that are REALLY good about it. I have my card ID stolen about a decade ago and they went after the people that did it and they served several years in prison. Didn't cost me a dime since the card company cleared all the charges. Could have been a nightmare if it was my bank account.
#15
Keeping pet cats from wandering unsupervised outdoors. The risk of catching diseases, getting injured, being hit by cars, or attacked by coyotes and other large animals in wild areas is just not worth it.
Julia Mckinney 11 hours ago
Or getting stuck in a large blackberry bramble that's 1 story high and several houses long (we got him back out after 5 days and a lot of effort- he's no longer allowed outdoors).
#16
Many people just don't pay attention in parking lots as pedestrians. If you are walking, you should especially pay attention in parking lots. This means not walking too closely to parked cars, paying attention to lights, and paying attention to see if someone recently entered a car. You are most likely to be hit as a pedestrian while walking behind a car backing up. Many cars don't have back up cams, and some people just don't have the flexibility to turn around and look behind them.
I see it all the time in the winter, pedestrians walking around, looking at their phones while wearing a black jacket or coat. Get off your phone while walking and wear brighter colors. You are practically invisible at night and in dim light while wearing black.
keyboardtek 2 hours ago
Also in the summer do not walk in the street wearing dark clothing. People drive wearing sunglasses. When someone walks in the street and then walks through a shady part of the street, the driver wearing sunglasses cannot see them.
#17
If someone calls you claiming to be your bank or creditor or anyone else, hang up and call them back at a number you have independently verified. It does not matter if you recognize the caller ID, that can be spoofed. It does not matter if they seem to know what they’re talking about, that’s what data leaks do.
If you receive a letter about a debt or other sensitive matter, say your electric bill, don’t call the number on it without independently verifying it first. I’ve actually legit gotten fake water bills.
Do not redirect payments based on emails. In fact, it’s best not to direct them at all based on an email. Scammers will interject themselves into real estate transactions, contract negotiations, etc. They’ll use an email that looks similar to the one you’ve already been in contact with or gain access to the real one. If possible, discuss changes in-person or on-the-phone (at a verified contact number).
#18
Not running the “yellow” on a busy intersection.
Chris 13 hours ago (edited)
What about the ones around here that run the red lights. It seems like in the last 10 years or so it is becoming so common, it is the exception that someone is not doing it. What I'm talking about is yellow comes and goes, and the red light comes up and they are still going through the light for a few more cars (they enter on solid red, and you are sitting there with a green light for another 5 seconds or so).
#19
Logging into personal accounts on a work computer. If your keystrokes are monitored, danny the IT guy can get passwords to your gmail, your password manager, your bank accounts...
SirWriteALot 9 hours ago
Be friends with Danny. Buy him a donut or a coffee or go to lunch with Danny. He'll can your life a lot easier.
#20
Keep your doors locked when you're at home. When someone comes to your door, check who it is on your doorbell camera. There is no law that says you have to answer it.
#21
I don't know if this counts but knocking on your hood/ looking under the hood before you start your car during cold weather. You may never know if a kitten or puppy is in there.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 7 hours ago
Good luck fitting in there. My engine bay is so small that even changing a bulb is almost impossible.
#22
In the US, freeze your credit. This prevents people from looking at it unless they have an existing business relationship with you (so bye-bye "pre-approved" credit card spam). And identity theft is much, much more difficult (they'd have to have your password to get into the account where the freeze is controlled from--they can't just use your Social Security Number).
*You can still check your own credit with a freeze applied.* Both the FICO scores many banks/cards offer and the free reports you're entitled to yearly.
This is **FREE**.
* Experian
* TransUnion
* Equifax
There's very little reason to pay for "credit locks." The only advantage is that their application is usually instant (both locking and unlocking). But they come with fees.
Seriously--almost nobody's credit needs to be accessible all the time. The freeze should be the default.
Unfreeze it if you are about to make a major purchase or apply for a credit card. Give it a few days (or even 15 minutes in my experience) to unfreeze rather than paying for a service to make it instant.
#23
When walking to your vehicle in a parking lot, don't be on/looking at your phone. Lock your vehicle as soon as you enter it. Depending on the time of day and area, be cautious of how long you sit with your eyes glued to your phone in your car.
You could go your whole life without the above ever being necessary. But there's no reason not to be careful. Your safety is worth the bit of extra attention and caution. If you've got kids, you might consider passing along the advice.
Mark Childers 13 hours ago
Too many people sit in their cars before taking off and after parking, making them a potential target, especially in dark parking lots. I get in my car, lock the door, start the car, and take off after I loaded it. When I get to my destination, I shut down the ignition and get out.
#24
If you have older kids, set up an Uber family account and let them know they can use it if they need to. As a dad of 3 teenage girls, I'd rather see they grabbed a safe ride home and didn't feel guilty about doing it than the possible alternative.
#25
Be willing to lose whatever you have on you. If someone wants it they’re gonna take it so just toss it and run. You’re not as good a fighter as you think you might be. Whatever’s in your pocket isn’t worth your life.
#26
Have your lights automatically come on at night, especially when you're away. It gives the impression that someone is home which thieves do not want.
WindySwede 12 hours ago
And don't use the system from Home alone, either. Use a system that can turn them on little bit at random times. Like at 19.30, but varies it 15 to 30 minutes to not always have it on at exact time??
#27
Replace the screws that came with your entry door(s) latch plate with longer ones. I’m talking like 3”. That will secure the plate down into the framing itself rather than just the wood trim. Makes your door much harder to kick down if someone was intent on breaking in that way.
#28
Steel-framed doors and good deadbolts.
keyboardtek 2 hours ago
Any exterior door with glass in it gets an interior keyed dead bolt. We leave the key in the bolt when we are at home incase of having to exit the house in an emergency. We remove the key when we leave the house.
#29
Everyone in your family should have an family identification word or phrase. If someone gets an appeal for money via text/email/phone/etc they ask for the family word. It's easy and will keep grandma & grandpa from sending gift cards to the police dept for your bail.
WindySwede 12 hours ago
Is it good too ask though? If the don't use the phrase then just hang up, no need to expose you have a phrase?? /gen
#30
Stop giving your phone number and email address to everyone who asks for it.
#31
Using an adblocker. Malicious ads are one of the most common ways to get malware on your device.
#32
Literally not using your real name on the internet.
#34
Ban yourself from all the casino’s, you can simply do it online and prevent yourself for going into heavy debt (speaking of experience).
#35
Not having your keys out BEFORE you get to your car or door...those precious seconds could make the difference!
#36
As a former gym employee, lock your lockers, people. Seriously. And use a combination lock. It's too easy to loose a key for a lock that requires it.
Thieves actively hunt for open lockers filled with stuff. They won't touch locked lockers because its easier to target unlocked ones.
WindySwede 12 hours ago
"Hi this is the lock picking lawyer!" And don't use a master lock or any lock that can be brute forced in 2 sec or less!
#37
People don't understand the amount of information they give out in a single photograph. They think they are being secure, but there is a stunning amount of information they don't even realize can be gleaned.
Sure, take a pic of your new car and cover the plate..safe right? No..the type of trees, the neighbors houses, the direction of the shadows, reflections in windows and chrome, all of it can be used to pinpoint your actual location and therefore it's likely your identity too. At least you covered up the plate lol.
I would also say that walking around with your face in your phone is a security threat. Your situational awareness is in the toilet when your face is in your phone, and you have almost no sense of what it going on around you.
#38
Do people have fire extinguishers in their kitchens? I don’t see them on makeover shows.
If you saw how fast fire can spread you’d have extinguishers everywhere.
Green Tree 12 hours ago
I asked for one for Xmas two years ago and the giver thought it was kinda a weird ask but when I opened all the adults in the room where like Yes! What a great idea!
#39
Not having our phone out in our hand when walking along the street. So easy to have it snatched.
#40
We should really be using two-factor authentication more often. Like, people think a password is enough, but it’s not secure anymore.
#41
Do not change your password for a site unless there has been a compromise. Requiring periodic password changes reduce the security posture.
NIST updated their recommendations in 2017, but it seems everyone is still doing periodic password changes.
Chris 12 hours ago
I have been saying this for years. The original idea was suggested by a professor as an example and that professor wasn't even a security expert. Note that if you can have something like your garage door opener or a security key that changes every time it is used that is a good thing. But just think about the "90 days". That means on average if a hacker gets your password, he/she has 45 days to use it. Not much help. But think of the opposite, you think up a good password, and then someone makes you change it over and over, what are the chances that you will keep creating good passwords? BTW best would probably be to just use a password manager and have it generate a good one for you. Or use a more modern system that doesn't require a password at all (when possible).
#43
Only share personal information over the phone, on a phone call you placed, and dialed.
Do not share personal information, over the phone to someone who called you. It is very easy to spoof a phone number and make your Caller ID think your bank or credit card company calling you, when it is actually a scammer.
#45
Using a vpn on public wifi. It’s surprising how many people don’t realize how exposed their data is without one.
#46
Physically locking the garage door. Put a motion alarm on the gate. Put a physical stick barrier on your windows. Clear the bushes away from the hiding spot next to your front door. Put up a fence. Have all your packages delivered offsite.
Scarlett O'Hara's Ghost 12 hours ago
Plant thorny bushes under windows low enough to climb through
#47
Using pass-phrases rather than traditionally-complex passwords.
You're never going to remember **5s9j%JGjekL(**
but you'll probably remember **inevitable-warming-buttocks-prot0col**.
Janissary35680 12 hours ago (edited)
Yeah, but for every website/service that I need to use? No way. Instead I use an algorithm (rule) that uses part of the website/service's name and information that ONLY I know to generate a (mostly) unique PW for every website/service. Remember the rule and don't tell anybody what it is.
#48
Changing the locks on my house.. The previous owner is dead; his family lives far away. I"m not worried about random keys to my house out in the wild.
#49
Set your text messages to delete after a set amount of time.
Remi (He/Him) 11 hours ago
Better yet, don't use text messages for communication, but a secure messaging apps
#50
Change your routine. Don't always go back home using the same route or coming and leaving everyday at exactly the same time.
#51
I know that some/many take it, but still see enough that do not.
Wearing a bicycle helmet.
I used to ride A LOT on a bicycle. Still do. I used to hate my helmet because my hair started to itch really badly quite quickly after not wearing it for some time and it was a pain to always take it with me.
Then I had my first and only biking accident. Was 100 % my fault. But if it had not been for the helmet, what ended up as a scraped and bloody elbow, a wrist that hurt for two weeks and pain in my thumb for 3 weeks that made it almost impossible to grip stuff, I would have probably ended in the ICU that day with a severe head trauma.
Almost exactly 1 year before that, my best friend had also been in a similiar accident. He also wore his helmet and it definitely saved his life.
Currently studying and I see so many of my fellow students not wearing their helmet. Yeah, 99,9 % of the time nothing will happen. But when it does, a helmet might be the difference between a bruise on the arm and maybe a small concussion or life long brain damage.
#52
Whenever possible, switch your SMS 2 factor authentication to an app based authenticator, or even a hardware security key. Doing so prevents SIM swapping identity theft schemes that allow a hacker to access your account by taking over your phone number.
#53
Just being in good shape tends to ward off anyone who might want to harm you. If you have visible muscle, they'll probably leave you alone and failing that you can always run away better if you keep up with your cardio.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 10 hours ago
Alternatively, like me be massively overweight. Makes me much harder to kidnap. Stay safe, eat cake!
#54
Cap those methane hydrates before they heat up too much and really shoot the temperature up.
What do you think ?
Matt Du 9 hours ago
A new scam we have seen/heard a lot of now, is fake high price items(phones, laptops) sold on gumtree, vinted, etc. Collection only and cash. They supply an address to meet them so it looks genuine, they are outside on the road in a very posh area, waiting for you, hood up, topping up oil/water on their car. Call you over before you can knock. Always late for something. They do not live at that address.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 2 hours ago
This one may be especially pertinent at this time of year, but please be careful about disposing of packaging. I'm sure we've all seen packaging for high value items such as tvs or gaming systems on the kerb waiting for the binmen. That's like browsing the Argos catalogue for a burglar. And once you've been burgled, there's a very good chance that it will happen again later when they think you've replaced the items that they stole last time.
Matt Du 9 hours ago
A new scam we have seen/heard a lot of now, is fake high price items(phones, laptops) sold on gumtree, vinted, etc. Collection only and cash. They supply an address to meet them so it looks genuine, they are outside on the road in a very posh area, waiting for you, hood up, topping up oil/water on their car. Call you over before you can knock. Always late for something. They do not live at that address.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 2 hours ago
This one may be especially pertinent at this time of year, but please be careful about disposing of packaging. I'm sure we've all seen packaging for high value items such as tvs or gaming systems on the kerb waiting for the binmen. That's like browsing the Argos catalogue for a burglar. And once you've been burgled, there's a very good chance that it will happen again later when they think you've replaced the items that they stole last time.
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