Data security is a hot topic right now! Here’s how you can secure your online accounts to protect yourself from hackers, and minimise impacts of a data breach.
![A duotoned dark purple and beige version of the Apple shield emoji, in front of a green zig zag shape across the bottom of the image](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/How-to-secure-your-online-accounts-using-a-password-manager.jpg)
Secure your online accounts
Here’s a short (8min) video on how to secure your online accounts:
8 Easy Steps to Data Security
- Check yo self
- Sign up for a password manager
- Download the app(s)
- Get the browser extension(s)
- Setup two-factor authentication
- Categorise and share
- Get setup
- Level up
1. Check yo self
Go to https://haveibeenpwned.com to see if your email has been involved in any major known data breaches.
![A screenshot of the 'Have I Been Pwned' website which says "Check if your email or phone is in a data breach"](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Pwned-1024x503.png)
2. Sign up for a password manager
Ideally something like 1Password, Lastpass, Dashlane, Bitwarden, Roboform, Sticky Password or Keeper, if you can afford it.
(The free Apple keychain or in-browser services are the next best thing, although these may be less secure and passwords can’t always be shared across devices.)
![A comparison table for the major password manager services](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1Password-comparison-1024x734.png)
3. Download the app(s)
So you can access passwords via any of your devices (eg. across your phone and computer).
![The 1Password iPhone app icon](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1P-app.jpg)
4. Get the browser extension(s)
Activate for any browsers you use, like Chrome or Safari, and it will suggest a password to autofill based on the website URL.
![The 1Password browser extension showing an autofill selection for Facebook](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1Password-browser-ext.png)
![The Gmail login screen showing the password manager's suggested autofill](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Gmail-login-1024x503.png)
![The Twitter login screen showing the password manager's suggested autofill](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Twitter-login-1024x507.png)
![A WordPress login screen showing the password manager's suggested autofill](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Wordpress-login-1024x503.png)
5. Setup two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security — for details on how to set this up, check out our other post: How to setup two-factor authentication with the Google Authenticator app
![Screenshot of the Google Authenticator app screen showing different website names, each with a large numerical code underneath](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2FA-iPhone-473x1024.png)
6. Categorise and share
If you have a lot of passwords, you can group these using tags, or share these with others within the password manager app.
![A screenshot of the 1Password interface, showing various logins under the 'Producing Paradise' tag](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1Password-tag-view-1024x545.png)
7. Get setup
- You’ll only need one password to access your password manager — make it something you enjoy typing, and ‘unguessable’
- Choose a different password for every account — don’t use the same password twice!
- As you add each password, it’s a good opportunity to change it
![The one password entry screen which says 'Enter your password'](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1P-login.png)
8. Level up
- Check the URL before logging into a familiar site — a fake site may only have one letter different to the ‘real’ one!
- Check the URL before clicking any link by hovering over it
- Use an email alias when signing up for any account — e.g. [yourname]-instagram@gmail.com will send mail to [yourname]@gmail.com
![The real Facebook URL](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/URLcheck-2.png)
![A fake Facebook URL](https://www.producingparadise.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/URLcheck-1.png)
Once you’ve got this system in place, it’s a good idea to turn off the autofill any other services (and delete any saved passwords from those) — so your password manager is the only place managing ALL of your passwords.
Happy password managing!