5 Ways to make your Chromebook more secure
If you are a user of Google Chromebook, you would have been told already that your device is considered quite secure when compared to any other similar computing device. But as experts will warn you there is no such thing as a 100% secure system or network. Even the strongest systems have been broken into and conquered by hackers.
Chromebooks are Google’s lightweight laptop that run on Chrome OS. These machines are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with the majority of applications and documents living in the cloud.
One of Chrome OS’ biggest benefits is its inherent security features. It’s regarded as one of the most secure consumer-focused operating systems, your Chromebook’s security starts before you even sign in. Because Chrome OS uses your Google account for literally everything, you need first to make sure your Google account is protected. but in addition to its built-in security features, there are a few ways to protect your Chromebook.
Check the Privacy and Security Menu
Chrome OS does a great job of keeping tight security as it is, but it never hurts to do a little follow-up on your own. Under the Privacy and Security menu, you’ll find several relevant features to which you might want to pay closer attention.
Specifically, you’ll want to make sure Safe Browsing is enabled, which will alert you of potentially dangerous sites. Similarly, you can enable the “improve Safe Browsing” feature if you want. This just sends some system info and page contents back to Google.
Install Guest Mode
If you share your Chromebook with friends and acquaintances, then you need to get acquainted with Guest mode. It lets them use your Chromebook without them being able to touch your Google account. Not only does it keep them from accessing your data and files, but it also prevents them from messing up your settings. Bottomline, it keeps your data on Google’s suite of apps safe from prying eyes.
Install a VPN
This is being practiced by computer users nowadays. The advantage of a VPN is that it obscures your IP address and even your ISP (internet service provider) cannot find out your precise location when you are connected. The same holds good for any page you visit on the internet. The most important aspect of VPN is that it encrypts your data, with the result that even in the event of a hack, the intruder cannot access it.
Update frequently
Like any system, such as Windows or Linux, installing available updates is critical to the overall health and security of your device and data. On a Chromebook available updates are automatic. You will be notified if they are ready to install, which makes keeping things up to date easy. Simply click the “Reboot” button when an update presents itself, and once the system is back online, you’ll have the latest patches.
Sleeplocking
If you need to quickly get somewhere but don’t want to shut your Chromebook down, just close the lid on your Chromebook and it goes to sleep. Open it back up, and your Chromebook springs awake. It’s certainly easy this way, but if you are worried about others accessing your sleeping Chromebook when you are away, you can set it to lock when it sleeps and require a password when it awakes.
Go to Settings and click Screen Lock and sign in in the People section. Next, enter your password and toggle on Show lock screen when waking up from sleep. If you have a long, complicated password that you’d rather not need to enter each time you wake up your Chromebook, select PIN or password and then click the Set up PIN button and choose a six-digit (or more) PIN that you can use instead of your password to unlock your Chromebook.
Furthermore, make sure your Google account is secured with a strong password combined with Chromebook’s hardware-level security and following the above tips, your laptop will turn into a fortress.