Secure Your Phone and Computer: The Essentials

Last updated July 6, 2026

Attackers overwhelmingly exploit two things: devices that haven’t been updated, and devices that aren’t locked. Both are free to fix.

Turn on automatic updates — everywhere

Software updates are mostly security patches for holes criminals are actively using. The window between a patch being released and attacks exploiting the un-patched hole is now days, not months.

Phone: enable automatic OS and app updates (Settings → Software Update on iOS; Settings → System Update on Android). If your Android phone no longer receives security updates, it’s time to replace it — no setting compensates for unpatched firmware.
Computer: enable automatic updates for Windows/macOS and your browser. The browser is the most-attacked program you own.
Everything else: routers, smart TVs and “smart” gadgets have updates too — check their apps or admin pages a couple of times a year, and see securing your home network.

Lock the device itself

A lost, unlocked phone is your email, banking, photos and saved passwords in a stranger’s hand.

Use biometrics plus a 6-digit-or-longer PIN — not 1234, not a birth year. On a laptop, a real login password.
Set the screen to lock automatically after a minute or two.
Enable Find My iPhone / Find My Device so you can locate or remotely erase a lost device.
Turn on full-disk encryption: it’s automatic on modern phones and Macs (FileVault) and available on Windows as BitLocker or Device Encryption. Encryption is what makes “lost” mean lost rather than breached.

Be picky about software

Install apps only from the official app stores, and check the permissions they ask for — a flashlight app doesn’t need your contacts.
Uninstall what you don’t use. Every app is attack surface and, often, a data collector.
On Windows, the built-in Microsoft Defender is solid; if you want more protection layers (ransomware rollback, phishing filtering), see our antivirus guide.
Don’t install “cleaner,” “booster” or cracked software — these categories are where malware lives.

Back up like you’ll be ransomed

Ransomware and theft are both survivable if your data exists in more than one place. Use the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two different media, one off-site (cloud counts). Turn on automatic phone backups and use File History (Windows) or Time Machine (Mac). Test a restore once — a backup you’ve never restored from is a hope, not a plan.