7 online security tips to keep your accounts safe
Written and accurate as at: Sep 08, 2026 Current Stats & Facts
Our lives are extraordinarily intertwined with the internet. We bank, shop, book holidays and keep in touch with friends, all through a growing collection of online accounts.
With so much of our personal and financial information sitting behind a screen, Aussies can’t afford to be complacent. Scammers and cybercriminals are constantly evolving their tactics, and the fact you’ve avoided trouble so far doesn’t mean you won’t be affected in the future. Below, we explore a few sensible habits to help keep your accounts safe.
Create strong, unique passwords
If your password is predictable or easy to guess from your social media, it can leave you vulnerable to hacking. And if you’ve reused that password across multiple accounts, the fallout could be much greater than you might expect.
Aim for long, unique passwords for every important account, particularly your email and anything involving your finances. The Australian Cyber Security Centre recommends adopting a passphrase approach – that is, using a string of random words, with at least 15 characters in total, whenever possible.
Use a password manager to store login details securely
Good security habits naturally lead to more passwords – often more than the average person can remember – and that’s where outsourcing the job to technology can help. A reputable password manager can not only help you generate strong passwords, it can also store them securely and fill them in when you need them.
Enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an additional layer of security to your accounts by introducing a security code, authenticator app, or biometric check at login. This means that even if a criminal gets hold of your password, they’ll have a hard time accessing your account without that second form of verification.
Turn on MFA for your important accounts wherever it’s available, particularly your email, banking and other financial accounts. While it might feel inconvenient, a few extra seconds at login could save you a much bigger headache later on.
Recognise phishing emails and text messages
These days, scams increasingly resemble ordinary messages from providers, and they can even appear in the same threads as legitimate messages from organisations you know. So if you receive a message asking you to click a link, move money around, or enter your password, don’t immediately take it at face value.
Instead, confirm whether it’s genuine by navigating to the organisation's website yourself. And in the meantime, avoid clicking on any links in the message, as these could direct you to a fake website or download malicious software onto your device.
Keep your devices and software up to date
Those notifications asking you to update your device can be annoying, but there's a reason they keep appearing: they’re often rolled out to patch known security vulnerabilities. Try to ensure you have the latest versions installed of your device’s operating system, browser and apps (turning on automatic updates can help here).
Avoid unsecured public Wi-Fi networks
Convenient as it might be, free Wi-Fi at airports, hotels or cafés can be risky, and you should be especially careful when connecting to these networks if you’re using your device to do online banking.
If you absolutely need to use public Wi-Fi, keep the following tips in mind:
- Confirm the correct Wi-Fi name, for example by asking staff or checking the venue's signage.
- Check for HTTPS and the lock symbol in the address bar to make sure a website is secure.
- Disable file sharing and select ‘public’ when prompted to choose a network type.
- Avoid doing your online banking or other sensitive tasks; instead, use your mobile connection or a trusted network for these.
- ‘Forget’ the network once you’re done to prevent your device reconnecting automatically.
- If you regularly use public Wi-Fi, consider installing a reputable VPN to encrypt your internet traffic.
Know what to do if one of your accounts is compromised
If you think an account has been accessed by someone else, act quickly. Change your password, sign out of other sessions and enable MFA if it’s available. If you’ve reused that password elsewhere, consider changing those accounts too.
For financial accounts (like your savings or super) contact the relevant organisation immediately and monitor your transactions closely. You can also report scams to Scamwatch and seek guidance from the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
