It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean that cyber threats are less prevalent.
This Christmas, hackers and fraudsters will be looking to take advantage of the latest threats to find a way to gain access to personal information, banking details and even take control of entire devices.
To ensure you have a quiet (safe) night this Christmas, here are some top tips on how to stay protected during the holiday season.
Watch out for the dangers of the holiday brain
Now that many of us are opting for hybrid work, it’s critical that the boundaries between personal and work devices remain strong – if only for security reasons.
Juggling work and personal devices can be tricky given the convenience of checking work email while on vacation at home. However, accidentally opening a fake link or email on personal devices can have a serious knock-on effect, especially with legitimate-looking phishing emails where hackers impersonate emails or messages to steal login details or personal information.
If you receive an email that looks or feels suspicious, it’s best to take a few moments to investigate it thoroughly – phishing emails often contain obvious spelling, graphical or formatting errors, or contain clearly malicious links. Fortunately, Complete Bitdefender security (opens in a new tab) goes beyond typical antivirus and anti-malware programs to protect you from all the latest phishing scams, including dedicated anti-phishing and anti-scam systems to keep you safe online.
Treat yourself to a VPN
Many of us now have experience using a virtual private network or VPN, which allows us to connect to workplace networks to access important files or systems while away from the office.
However, a VPN can also keep you safe at home, especially if (as mentioned above) you use your personal and work devices at the same time. A VPN not only allows you to hide your internet connection to deter snoopers, but also gives you access to entertainment and sports streaming services from different countries – perfect if you want to watch that niche Christmas movie or TV special.
Complete Bitdefender security (opens in a new tab) includes a Secure VPN service for complete online privacy, and with a free 200MB per day allowance, you can safely perform tasks such as online banking and other sensitive tasks.
Reinforce those passwords
Passwords have long been an essential part of everyone’s security, so when it comes to staying protected over the holiday season, getting your data sorted quickly can be a useful way to relax.
Hopefully we all realize how important it is to maintain strong, unique passwords for all your accounts, as hackers only need access to one account to potentially break all the others.
We know that remembering all this can seem like a big challenge, but Complete Bitdefender security (opens in a new tab) has a built-in Password Manager service that helps you keep track of all your login details, keeping all your information safe from hackers and giving you one less thing to worry about.
Share the love of security across all your devices
Christmas is typically a time for new additions to our tech family as popular gifts in the form of phones, laptops, tablets and more provide more secure items.
Juggling the different security needs of all your devices can be a challenge because while PCs and laptops are often prioritized when it comes to security, the need to secure mobile devices and tablets is still crucial, especially if you’re connecting your work devices to your home network or vice versa.
Fortunately, Complete Bitdefender security (opens in a new tab) is able to secure all your devices running on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, including several generations of each software. It can be used to protect up to 15 devices per household, keeping you and your family safe online, whatever threats you face this Christmas.
To stay up to date on all the latest threats, you can also get real-time updates on malware outbreaks and scams Bitdefender Blog (opens in a new tab).