Two-factor authentication is important for online security (and not just email accounts), but there are other lessons to be learned from Mat Honan's misfortune. I'm probably more extreme in my practices than most people, but I'm OK with the inconviences.
- You can't rely on companies providing online services to have your best interests as their best interests.
- Take security seriously because if you don't you won't know about an attack until it's done.
- Don't use a vendor's all-in-one services.
- Don't use "the cloud" as a backup source.
- Back up frequently.
- Don't use one email account for everything.
- Have an email account that is used for recoveries and nothing else... and keep it obscure. e.g: [email protected]
- Don't use personal credit cards for online purchases.
- If it's an option, don't store credit card details against your account; choose to manually enter it every time.
- Don't use the same credit card for multiple sources of online shopping/billing/etc.
- Don't give real answers to "security questions", such as your mother's maiden name or the name of your first pet.
- Don't provide real personal information (address, contact number, etc) to online services when you create an account.
- Don't use Facebook, Twitter, etc irresponsibly.
- Shutdown if you're not at your computer.
- Encrypt your data.
- You can't rely on companies providing online services to have your best interests as their best interests. - Take security seriously because if you don't you won't know about an attack until it's done. - Don't use a vendor's all-in-one services. - Don't use "the cloud" as a backup source. - Back up frequently. - Don't use one email account for everything. - Have an email account that is used for recoveries and nothing else... and keep it obscure. e.g: [email protected] - Don't use personal credit cards for online purchases. - If it's an option, don't store credit card details against your account; choose to manually enter it every time. - Don't use the same credit card for multiple sources of online shopping/billing/etc. - Don't give real answers to "security questions", such as your mother's maiden name or the name of your first pet. - Don't provide real personal information (address, contact number, etc) to online services when you create an account. - Don't use Facebook, Twitter, etc irresponsibly. - Shutdown if you're not at your computer. - Encrypt your data.