Professional hacker shares essential piece of advice to stay protected from cyberattacks online

Staying safe online might be easier than you though, as one professional hacker shares a piece of simple advice that you might not have expected to be as useful as it is.

Cybersecurity is one of the most important things you need to take into account in the current internet age, as it's shockingly easy for knowledgeable individuals to take advantage of your online accounts if you're not careful.

From malware attacks that ethical hackers have come to regret to fraudulent USB charging cables that are far more dangerous than they seem, you have to be aware of almost everything you do when using tech these days.

Thanks to a post of Reddit though one professional hacker has shared an essential piece of advice that they believe everyone should follow, and it's a lot simpler than you might expect.

When posed with the question of what the average person could do to up their online security, the hacker answered:

"Keep all sensitive information (passwords, seedphrase and so) on paper and away from online 3rd party digital storage. Don't click on random links or download random files."

Who would have thought that using the good old pen and paper would be the best course of action in 2024, but it certainly stops any malicious individuals from accessing your accounts - unless they're willing to make the trek to find it in person!

Almost everyone is guilty of the convenience of password storage systems, as they're often built into our phones or browsers.

Having instant access to any account information with the click of a button is incredibly convenient, but it also makes it just as easy for someone with the right skills to access your entire online footprint.

Furthermore, downloading random files or clicking on random links is just asking for trouble - as anyone who was around in the days of Limewire will know all too well - as that's just like opening the door of your house for hackers to enter freely.

The hacker reiterated this point later down in the post, after someone asked them for their thoughts on Apple security and whether it would be a good alternative to the pen and paper method.

"No," they asserted, "stay away from third parties managing your sensitive information."

Sometimes the old fashioned methods work best, even in the digital age (Wodicka/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

One user did pose the question "What about when someone breaks into your house and finds the password list?" but the hacker didn't respond unfortunately.

They also proposed the notion of offline password managers like KeePass, which keep the information away from the cloud, but that still leaves you vulnerable to anyone who is able to remotely access your computer.

Ultimately there's no completely safe way to store your passwords outside of your brain as someone is always going to be able to find a way to access them, but it seems like third party options are something you should definitely consider avoiding, even if they are incredibly convenient.