As the most romantic day of the year comes around, it's a great time for showing those you love just how much you care about them.
But you can also share the love with your devices, making sure they stay safe online and you don't suffer any kind of security heartbreak. Here's some of our top tips to make sure this Valentine's Day is a security success on every front.
Practice safety first
It's no secret that we all own and use more connected devices today than at any other time in history, and as many of us are now working from home for the foreseeable future, it's time to make sure we stay safe there.
Devices such as smartphones and tablets often get left on the wayside when it comes to security protection, despite being continually connected to the internet and containing much of our most-loved photos, videos and apps.
To keep all this protected, Bitdefender Total Security offers these often-neglected mobile devices an equal amount of protection as with your PC or laptop. It covers Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, including several generations of each software, and protection can be extended over up to 15 devices per household, meaning you can also keep your loved ones safe online.
Treat your special someone to a VPN
Another top way to stay secure online is with a Virtual Private Network, or VPN. If you haven't already been using one to help with working from home, a VPN helps keep you safe online by masking your internet connection, making it appear that you are based in whatever region or country of your choosing, meaning third-parties such as advertisers or hackers are unable to follow your internet activity or snoop on your location.
Bitdefender Total Security comes with a comprehensive and improved VPN service that's perfect for work and home use, providing 200MB of encrypted data traffic per day for your Windows, Android, macOS and iOS devices at no extra cost, meaning you'll be able to stream and surf online whilst staying secure without restrictions.
Give your passwords some love
They are little-loved, but passwords are an important and unavoidable part of online security for us all.
Having strong passwords employing a mix of letters, numbers and special characters for all your seperate accounts is common knowledge, as this can ensure hackers and other cybercriminals are blocked at the point of entry, keeping your data, and your devices, secure. It may sound easier, but re-using the same passwords across multiple accounts means that all it takes is for one account to be compromised in order for hackers to potentially access everything else.
Creating and remembering strong passwords for all your accounts can often be a tough task, but Bitdefender Total Security features an in-built Password Manager service to let you keep track of all your passwords, credit card information, and other sensitive data in a cyber-vault for easy access whenever you need them.
Beware security heartbreak
Finally, be sure not to let your guard down when it comes to security, even when it's on a workplace device that you assume is already protected by your IT department.
Juggling work and personal devices can be tricky, and despite the convenience of checking your work email when away from the office, accidentally opening up a scam link or email on your personal devices can have a knock-on effect for your other items too.
Phishing emails, where hackers spoof messages from a legitimate company in an attempt to steal login details or personal information, have seen a significant rise recently. But if you receive an email that looks or seems suspicious, take a few moments to examine it carefully - phishing messages often contain obvious spelling, imaging or formatting errors, or have clearly malicious links.
Bitdefender Total Security goes beyond typical antivirus and malware blockers to keep you protected from all the latest phishing scams, including dedicated anti-phishing and anti-fraud systems to keep you safe online.
