Protecting Your Devices
By the end of this module you'll understand the two jobs that keep a device safe — watching for suspicious activity and closing known weaknesses with updates — plus a few simple habits and what to do when a device stops getting updates.
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Your devices need more than old-fashioned antivirus
Protecting your devices
Your devices need more than old-fashioned antivirus.
Phones, computers, and tablets face changing threats. Modern protection watches for suspicious activity, while routine updates repair known security weaknesses. Traditional antivirus still helps — it is just one part of the picture now.
02
The two jobs that matter most
Keeping a device safe really comes down to two simple jobs working together — neither one replaces the other.
What good protection does
Watch for suspicious activity
Modern device protection looks for unusual behavior — not only files already known to be harmful.
Older antivirus mostly checks files against a list of threats that have already been reported. It is good at recognizing something it has seen before, but a brand-new threat is not on that list yet.
Newer protection also watches how a program behaves while it runs. If something suddenly starts changing lots of files or settings, it can be stopped on that behavior alone. This behavior-watching approach is sometimes called EDR, short for Endpoint Detection & Response — a tool that notices when a program starts acting in harmful ways.
Keep known weaknesses closed
Updates repair security problems found in the operating system, browser, apps, and device software.
When a security problem is discovered in a piece of software, the company that makes it prepares a fix and sends it out as an update. Installing that update is what actually closes the problem on your device — until then, the opening stays there.
03
Why updates matter
It is tempting to postpone updates, but most of them are quietly repairing security problems.
How an update protects you
- Step 1
A weakness is discovered
Someone finds a security problem in software you use.
- Step 2
The maker releases a correction
The company that makes the software prepares a fix and sends it out as an update.
- Step 3
Installing it closes the opening
Once you install the update, that particular problem is closed on your device.
Delaying an update leaves a known problem open longer than necessary.
You do not have to drop everything — just avoid putting it off indefinitely. Turning on automatic updates handles most of this for you.
04
Simple device-safety habits
A few small habits cover most of what keeps everyday devices safe. There is nothing to score or finish here.
Four habits worth building
Turn on automatic updates
Let your device install security fixes on its own, then restart when it asks you to.
Use a screen lock
A PIN, password, fingerprint, or face unlock keeps others out if a device is lost or left unattended.
Install from trusted sources
Get apps and software from official app stores or the maker's own website — not from pop-ups or links.
Remove apps you no longer use
Fewer unused apps means fewer things to keep updated, and fewer ways in.
05
What happens when a device is no longer supported?
Every device eventually reaches an age where the maker stops releasing security updates for it.
Older devices eventually stop receiving security updates. They may still turn on and work normally, but newly discovered problems may no longer be repaired.
What changes when support ends
Supported device
Receives corrections and security updates, so newly found problems get closed.
Support ends
The device still turns on and works, but newly discovered problems may no longer be corrected.
A gentle recommendation
If an important device no longer receives updates, begin planning to replace it — or keep it only for simple things like music or recipes, and stop signing in to email, banking, or storing important files on it.
Learn more: how to tell a device has stopped getting updatesLearn more
A few common signs: the maker no longer offers updates for that model, the device cannot move to the current operating system, or your browser or banking app warns that it will soon stop working on it.
What to remember
Three ideas worth carrying forward
- Modern protection watches for suspicious behavior, so it can stop threats that are too new to be on any list.
- Updates are repairs for security problems — installing one promptly closes a known weakness on your device.
- A device that no longer gets updates keeps working, but newly found problems stop being fixed — so keep important activity on devices that are still supported.
Terms used in this module
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