Turn this "deadbolt" on to secure your online accounts today

Even if you’re using strong unique passwords, there’s still a chance a hacker could trick you into sharing one of them or a data breach could expose them.

That’s why you need to enable two-factor authentication on your most important online accounts, including email, financial and social media.

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“I think we all have the tools, I don’t know if we all know how to use them as best as we can be,” said Thorin Klosowski, a privacy and security activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“I do a lot of our how-to guides guiding people towards best practices and security and privacy and making sure that you are as safe online as you can be,” explained Klosowski.

To protect yourself, there are a few important things you can do.

One of the top recommendations for keeping your accounts, and data, secure is to use a complex, unique password for every website.

Apple is set to make this process easier with the introduction of a dedicated Passwords app in iOS 18.

“Hopefully it’ll get more people using them,” said Klosowski.

On Android, you can use Google Password Manager or a third-party app like Bitwarden, which is free.

But the second key thing to do is turn on two-factor authentication.

“It’s a little like odd to get used to, but it is very helpful even if you are using unique passwords everywhere,” said Klosowski.

So even if someone got your password, they would still need to enter a secondary, randomly generated code before they could login.

This is often texted to your phone, but the most secure option is to use a two-factor app.

Duo Mobile and 2FAS are popular options. Google and Microsoft also make two-factor apps.

“Right now two-factor authentication is one of the best things we have to protect our accounts,” said Klosowski.

If your password is the door handle, two factor is a deadbolt for your accounts.

It might take a bit to set up and it might make logging in take a tiny bit longer, but it’s all worth the extra protection.