If you are reading this, cyber security is probably something that concerns you.

There's a constant struggle between cyber criminals and cyber security specialists and it has become a race towards finding better means of defense to protect ourselves. However, the cyber security side of things hasn't improved as much as we'd hope for in the last 10 years. There are cyber criminals which seem to outsmart cyber security experts every now and then (e.g. the current WannaCry ransomware).

This guide will show you how you can improve your cyber security in 6 steps:

1) Updating software to protect against known cyber threats;

2) Installing an anti-malware program to ensure nothing cyber criminals can use to attack you is on your computer;

3) Using a VPN or good privacy browser so cyber criminals can't find out who you are and cannot track your cyber activity over the internet;

4) Choosing strong passwords not easily hacked by cyber criminals (being able to protect yourself against brute force attacks);

5) Making sure your computer is encrypted;

6) Backing up data and files you do not want cyber criminals to have access to.

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1. Updating software

It goes without saying that cyber security nowadays is all about cyber protection and cyber prevention. In order to stay safe cyber criminals are trying their best to find vulnerabilities in a system so they can use it to exploit the cyber weakness and cause damage. In order for cyber criminals not to succeed, cyber security experts are always finding means of defense by trying to find cyber vulnerabilities and come up with a fix for them.

So this is why cyber security specialists advise that you should have up-to-date software on all your systems at home, at work and on any cyber device which is connected to the internet. This means cyber protection against cyber threats which cyber criminals already know of and cyber specialists are constantly working on a fix for.

2. Using an anti-malware program

An anti-malware program is one piece of cyber software you should have installed all the time on your cyber devices, because cyber criminals create what is known as malware to help them with cyber attacks. Malware can range from viruses (like WannaCry ransomware which infected computers all over the world) and worms to spyware or any cyber program which cyber criminals use to steal consumer data, login credentials, etc.

In other words: cyber criminals create cyber programs which attack cyber devices, cyber networks and cyber systems. These cyber programs are already known by cyber security specialists who have been working on a fix for them so that cyber criminals don't succeed in their attacks.

So having an anti-malware program installed is very important in order to protect yourself against cyber criminals trying to exploit your cyber device by using cyber programs.

3. Using a VPN or good cyber browser

A cyber VPN and/or cyber browser will protect your cyber activity on the internet from cyber criminals. A cyber VPN connects you to a server over the internet which means all of your cyber traffic is encrypted so that if any cyber criminal tried to intercept it or read it, they would not be able to.

Instead cyber security specialists will only see cyber traffic coming from the VPN server and cyber criminals won't be able to see who you are or where you're located.

A cyber browser with good privacy settings such as Firefox or Brave will do the same: it helps protect your cyber activity on the internet by not letting cyber criminals know who you are, see the websites you're visiting or read any cyber data or cyber content you're transmitting.

4. Choosing strong passwords

Having a strong password is one of the most basic cyber security tips out there but it still needs to be mentioned and applied whenever cyber security issues are discussed. So what makes a cyber password strong?

- cyber security specialists advise cyber protection from cyber threats when the cyber password is longer than 12 characters;

- cyber security specialists advise cyber protection from cyber threats when the cyber password has a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols (like !, @ or #);

- cyber security specialists advise cyber protection from cyber threats when the cyber password is changed at least once a month;

Also cyber security experts advise cyber protection from cyber threats by ensuring that cyber passwords are not easy to hack such as using the same cyber password for multiple cyber accounts, writing down your cyber password or using an easy-to-guess cyber password, etc.

5. Using cyber security software or cyber appliances

In order to further cyber protection from cyber threats and cyber attacks, cyber experts advise that you should regularly scan your cyber devices for vulnerabilities and malicious software (malware). You can do this by using cyber scanners which will identify cyber weakness and help you eliminate them.

Cyber weaknesses could be anything from old cyber software to cyber vulnerabilities which cyber criminals have already discovered and are trying to exploit.

Malicious cyber software (malware) is a cyber program created by cyber criminals with the purpose of stealing consumer data, login credentials, financial information or any other type of sensitive cyber data/content.

Cyber security specialists can help you make sure your cyber devices are cyber secure and cyber protected by installing cyber security software or cyber appliances on your computer, on your phone, etc.

6. Using a cyber security solution service

The last cyber protection tip you should use is to subscribe to cyber security solution services such as those provided for example by Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender or any cyber security provider you think best suits your cyber security needs.

These cyber protection services will help cyber experts monitor cyber devices to keep cyber criminals from exploiting vulnerabilities on cyber devices such as for example weak passwords, outdated software or cyber spyware and malicious cyber programs (malware).

It is a fact that cyber criminals can easily hack into private accounts if cyber users don't cyber security themselves and cyber protection from cyber threats is important for cyber safety and cyber protection at home, at work or on the internet in general.

With cyber security a cyber necessity, it is important to take stock of your cyber security protections and understand how they can be improved.

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Cyber security is a cyber necessity and cyber protection from cyber threats starts by using strong passwords, ensuring that you're regularly scanning for vulnerabilities on your cyber devices, installing cyber security software or cyber appliances to protect against malware/spyware and subscribing to an online cybersecurity service.

If cyber security is important to you, check out the cyber security tips we mentioned above.  Call a palmiq specialist today to talk more about cyber security.