On the occasion of Safer Internet Day, Google sponsored a group of Filipino journalists in its Philippine headquarters in Bonifacio Global City over a session on keeping the internet safe by getting into the habit of good online safety practices to keep cybercriminals at bay.
Google has shared several critical tips and information for users to keep their Google accounts, Smartphones, and other online devices secure and safe from malware, attacks, password breaches and other cyber attacks.
Filipinos are security-conscious
Google shared fresh data showing that Filipinos are among the top cyber security-conscious nations globally. The Philippines ranked fourth worldwide in “cybercrime” searches, according to a 2023 study. The country ranked fifth in “malware” searches and sixth in “phishing” information searches.
Regarding password information, Filipinos ranked eighth globally in searching for “password strength” searches, indicating that internet users from the Philippines are finding ways to keep strong passwords that are harder to hack by cyber actors.
Google also offered the following tips for internet users.
Security checkup
According to the search engine giant, your Google Account is equipped with a built-in security checkup tool that allows users to perform a security check for their passwords, account data, and other saved data to have more robust overall account security.
This security tool scours the internet for possible leaks and security passwords, advises the users if the password needs to be stronger and can be easily cracked by hackers, reuses passwords, and alerts the users if the password has not been changed for a certain period. The tool will suggest several actions for the users to take for a more robust and secure account.
2-step verification
Google recommends the 2-step verification as another security feature for a more secure account. This adds another layer of security on top of passwords to help prevent bad actors from accessing your account by requiring you to use a secondary factor on top of your username and password to log in to your account.
More importantly, if it’s too good to be true, chances are, it’s not true. Be vigilant of those emails and SMS messages offering you high-paying jobs or winning a raffle. Did you even apply for a job or join a raffle contest?
