Arkendia Classrooms
Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Basics: Protect Yourself and Understand the Threats

Learn how phishing, malware and scams work, then secure your passwords, devices, privacy and family step by step, and finish with your own personal security plan.

Beginner 8 h 28 lessons Free

You do not need to be a computer expert to be safe online. This course starts from zero and shows you, in plain language, how everyday threats such as phishing, ransomware, online scams and account takeovers really work, and what a few simple habits can do against them.

Across seven chapters you will secure your own digital life: strong passwords and two-factor authentication, updated and encrypted devices, reliable backups, safer browsing and messaging, your privacy rights, your family and your workplace. You will also learn what to do, and whom to call, when something goes wrong. Throughout the course you keep a Security Notebook that becomes your personal security plan. It is the first course of the Cybersecurity learning path, which leads from the basics to the level of an apprentice ethical hacker.

What you will learn

Prerequisites

None. This course is aimed at the general public and requires no technical knowledge: being able to use a computer or a smartphone is enough.

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Syllabus

Chapter 1 Understanding the Threats

  1. Phishing and Social Engineering18 min
  2. Malware and Ransomware: How They Work18 min
  3. Financial Fraud and Online Scams17 min
  4. Understanding the Attacker: Motives, Easy Targets and Your Attack Surface17 min
  5. Quiz: Understanding the Threats5 questions

Chapter 2 Passwords and Authentication

  1. What Makes a Strong Password (and Why Length Beats Complexity)17 min
  2. Password Managers: Principle, Choice and Migration18 min
  3. Two-Factor Authentication: SMS, Apps and Security Keys18 min
  4. Biometrics, Security Keys and Passkeys17 min
  5. Quiz: Passwords and Authentication5 questions

Chapter 3 Protecting Your Devices

  1. Updates and Antivirus: Why and How17 min
  2. Disk Encryption and Screen Lock16 min
  3. Backups: The 3-2-1 Rule and Restoring18 min
  4. Mobile Privacy: Permissions, Location and Official App Stores17 min
  5. Quiz: Protecting Your Devices5 questions

Chapter 4 Browsing and Communicating Safely

  1. Browsers, HTTPS and How to Check a Website17 min
  2. Public Wi-Fi and VPNs: What They Protect and What They Do Not17 min
  3. Email, Messaging and End-to-End Encryption18 min
  4. Social Networks and Your Digital Footprint17 min
  5. Quiz: Browsing and Communicating Safely5 questions

Chapter 5 Privacy and the Law

  1. The GDPR and Your Rights: Access, Rectification, Erasure18 min
  2. Cookies and Ad Trackers: How to Limit Them17 min
  3. Privacy Settings of Everyday Services17 min
  4. Protecting Children and Family Online18 min
  5. Quiz: Privacy and the Law5 questions

Chapter 6 Security at Work

  1. The Company Security Policy and Why It Exists16 min
  2. Secure Remote Work: Network and Devices17 min
  3. Access Management and the Principle of Least Privilege16 min
  4. Reporting a Security Incident at Work: Whom and How16 min
  5. Quiz: Security at Work5 questions

Chapter 7 Responding to an Incident

  1. Recognizing the Signs of a Compromise16 min
  2. After a Hack: Immediate Steps18 min
  3. Filing a Complaint and Getting Help: Official Resources16 min
  4. Building Your Personal Security Plan18 min
  5. Quiz: Responding to an Incident5 questions
  1. Final quiz — Final Quiz: Cybersecurity Basics20 questions