Family Online Safety Guide and Cybersecurity Basics Checkup

Family guide

Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT. Monitor IT. | Family Guide | October 2026 | GoBauer.com

1. Own IT: Be careful what you share

• Don't post personal details like your address, school or travel plans.
• Only connect with people you really know.
• Remember: what you post online can last forever.
• Know our family code word. If someone calls or messages asking for money or secrets, ask for the code word.

2. Secure IT: Lock your stuff

• Use different passwords for different apps. A password manager can remember them for you.
• Don't share passwords, even with friends.
• Lock phones and tablets with a PIN, fingerprint or face.
• Update devices when they ask you to.

3. Protect IT: Don't get tricked

• Don't click strange links or scan strange QR codes.
• Be careful with messages that say "act now" or "you won."
• Real companies don't ask for passwords or codes by text, email or phone.
• Voices and videos can be faked. If a call sounds like someone you know but feels wrong, hang up and call them back.
• Don't type private things, like your address or passwords, into artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots or games.
• If something feels off, stop and ask for help.

4. Monitor IT: Speak up early

• Tell someone if your account acts strange.
• Watch for messages you didn't send or sign-in alerts you didn't expect.
• Ask for help right away. Early is always better, and you won't be in trouble for asking.

Family rule: If you're unsure, pause and ask. That's being smart.

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Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT. was the 2019 Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme from CISA and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Monitor IT is the author's addition, because the first three are a theme and setup, but adding the fourth turns it into a repeatable lifecycle and sends you back to Own IT. Independent guide; not a CISA publication or endorsement. CC BY 4.0.

Cybersecurity Basics Checkup

The foundation for everything else, including artificial intelligence (AI). Work through one pillar at a time and check what you've done. Start with your email: it can reset almost every other account, so it's the master key. Using AI tools? When you're done here, go on to the Personal AI Security Checklist.

OWN IT: Know your accounts, devices and digital footprint.

• ☐ B-O1 List your important accounts. Email, bank, cards, mobile carrier, cloud storage and shopping. Keep the list on paper or in your password manager, never in an email to yourself.
• ☐ B-O2 Delete or clean up old accounts and devices. Close accounts you don't use. Remove or reset phones, computers, smart TVs and cameras you no longer use.
• ☐ B-O3 Check your digital footprint. Search your name, email addresses and phone numbers online. Make social accounts private, and limit public photos and voice clips; scammers use them to clone faces and voices.
• ☐ B-O4 Think before you share. Birthdays, pet names, schools and travel plans answer security questions and tell people when you're away. Keep personal and work profiles separate.
• ☐ B-O5 Make a family plan. Agree on a family code word for calls that ask for money or secrecy. Decide who helps kids and older relatives with their accounts.

SECURE IT: Lock down sign-in, devices and home network.

• ☐ B-S1 Use a password manager. Let it create a long, unique password for every account; at least 15 characters is a good target. Never reuse a password.
• ☐ B-S2 Turn on passkeys or multifactor authentication, starting with email, bank, mobile carrier and cloud storage. Prefer a passkey or authenticator app over text-message codes.
• ☐ B-S3 Protect account recovery. Keep recovery email and phone current, and save backup codes offline. Ask your mobile carrier for a PIN or number lock to block SIM swaps.
• ☐ B-S4 Update everything. Phones, computers, browsers, apps and your router. Turn on automatic updates.
• ☐ B-S5 Lock and encrypt your devices. Use a screen lock, turn on built-in encryption, and turn on Find My Device.
• ☐ B-S6 Review app permissions. Location, microphone, camera, contacts and photos. Delete apps you don't use, and install apps, extensions and add-ins only when you know what they are, who made them and what they can reach.
• ☐ B-S7 Secure your home Wi-Fi. Change the router's default admin password, use WPA3 or WPA2, and put smart devices and guests on a guest network.
• ☐ B-S8 Be careful on public Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Use your phone's data or a VPN you trust for banking and shopping, turn off auto-join, and turn Bluetooth off when you're not using it.
• ☐ B-S9 Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It's free, and you can lift it when you apply for credit. Parents can freeze a child's credit too.

PROTECT IT: Spot scams, verify on your own and keep copies.

• ☐ B-P1 Know the red flags: urgency, generic greetings, mismatched sender addresses or links, unexpected attachments, requests for passwords, codes or payment, and offers too good to be true. AI makes scams polished, so good spelling isn't proof.
• ☐ B-P2 Watch every channel: email (phishing), texts (smishing, like fake toll or delivery texts), calls (vishing) and QR codes (quishing).
• ☐ B-P3 Verify on your own. Call a number you already have, or type a website you know into a new browser window. Never use the contact details in a suspicious message.
• ☐ B-P4 Treat voices and video with care. AI can clone both. Ask for the family code word, or hang up and call back on a number you already have.
• ☐ B-P5 Never share a code or password with anyone who contacts you, and never approve a sign-in you didn't start.
• ☐ B-P6 Back up what matters. Photos, documents and recovery codes. Keep three copies on two kinds of storage, one somewhere else. Encrypt sensitive files before uploading them, and test that you can restore.
• ☐ B-P7 Retire devices safely. Back up, sign out, remove the device from your accounts, then factory reset. Take out SIM and memory cards.
• ☐ B-P8 Report it. Use your email app's Report phishing or Report junk button, and forward scam texts to 7726. Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and online crime at ic3.gov.
• ☐ B-P9 Be careful what you give AI tools. Don't enter sensitive personal, financial, medical or confidential information. For everyday tasks, share only what's needed and clean it up first.

MONITOR IT: Check monthly and after any alert.

• ☐ B-M1 Turn on account alerts for new sign-ins, new devices, password changes and app access. Check each alert by signing in yourself, not through the email's link.
• ☐ B-M2 Sign up for breach alerts for your email addresses, like Have I Been Pwned's free Notify Me. If an address shows up, change that password and turn on multifactor authentication.
• ☐ B-M3 Run your password manager's checkup. Most flag reused, weak or leaked passwords.
• ☐ B-M4 Turn on bank and card alerts for every purchase or any amount over a small limit, and read your statements each month.
• ☐ B-M5 Check your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
• ☐ B-M6 Review monthly: email forwarding and filter rules, devices signed in to your accounts, connected apps and privacy settings an update may have changed.

If something goes wrong

• You clicked a link or shared a code. From a trusted device, change that password, sign out other sessions, and turn on multifactor authentication. If money is involved, call your bank using the number on your card.
• You sent money or gift cards. Call your bank or card company right away, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or ic3.gov.
• Someone opened an account in your name. Go to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan, and freeze your credit.
• Save evidence first. Take screenshots and keep the messages before you delete anything.

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Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT. was the 2019 Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme from CISA and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Monitor IT is the author's addition, because the first three are a theme and setup, but adding the fourth turns it into a repeatable lifecycle and sends you back to Own IT. Independent guide; not a CISA publication or endorsement. The author develops commercial security tools in this area; this checklist is tool-neutral and recommends no product. Services named here are examples, not endorsements. CC BY 4.0. Provided as is, without warranty.

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