Safer online in 15 minutes: the checklist

Ten concrete steps that measurably improve your digital security in a quarter of an hour. Print it, save it as a PDF, and tick it off at your own pace.

You do not have to do everything at once – but these ten steps are the foundation. Work through them in order. Each one links to a fuller guide if you want to go deeper.

Saving this as a PDF Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) and choose Save as PDF. The page is print-optimised: navigation and footer are hidden automatically.

Your 15-minute security check

Set up a password manager – one strong, unique password per account, without memorising any of them. → Password managers
Turn on two-factor authentication – email and banking first. → How to set it up
Secure your email account above all others – it is the master key to every password reset. → Passwords & 2FA
Check who is logged in – end sessions you do not recognize. → Check active sessions
Check for mail forwarding rules you did not create – the classic silent backdoor.
Save your recovery codes offline, so a lost phone cannot lock you out permanently.
Turn on automatic updates for phone, computer and browser.
Set up a backup – automatic, with one copy kept offline.
Learn the phishing habit – never act through a link in a message, always open the app or type the address. → How to spot phishing
Save emergency contacts – your bank’s card-blocking number and the local police number.

What next?

This list is the entry point. If you want to keep going in a structured way:

All security topics – sorted by area.
Free self-checks – verify things yourself instead of assuming.
Emergency help – if something has already happened.

Looking for more depth? The German section of crackthe.net has been running since 2010 and covers far more ground – devices, online banking, family safety, crypto and AI security: crackthe.net/de .