How to protect your accounts during Black October, the wave of breaches and software flaws hitting the internet in late October 2026, in about an hour spread across a few days.
You don't need to understand any of the news to be safe. Breaches are hitting the companies behind the apps you use, so the fix is the same for everyone: a few small habits. Do one step today, one tomorrow, and you're ahead of most people.
What You'll Need
- Your phone and your laptop
- About 10 minutes per step
Steps
- Update — install every pending update on your phone, laptop, and browser, then restart. Most of this week's flaws are already fixed; updating is how the fix reaches you.
- Secure your email — change your email password to one you've never used anywhere else, then turn on two-step login in its security settings. Your email can reset every other account, so this one step protects the most.
- Get a password manager — install 📝1Password, Bitwarden, or use the one built into your Apple or 📝Google account. Let it create new passwords for your bank and any site where you've reused a password; the rest can wait.
- Add two-step login to the big ones — turn it on for your bank, your Apple or Google account, and any dating or social apps. Use an authenticator app, a passkey, or a security key like a 📝YubiKey over text messages when offered (see 📝1Password: Using It as a 2FA Authenticator (OTP)).
- Ignore urgent messages — expect fake "your account was hacked, click here" emails and texts this month. Never click the link; open the app or type the website yourself to check.
- Check your private stuff — look at where intimate photos, messages, and profiles are stored and who can see them. If anyone threatens to leak your content, it's a scam: don't pay, don't reply, and tell someone you trust.
- If you build software — rotate every secret on 📝Railway, Zeabur, or anything that ran LiteLLM 1.107.0, then watch your AI provider dashboards for usage you don't recognize. Stolen API keys are being resold right now.
What's Next?
- 📝My Office Hours — stuck on a step? Drop into my virtual office and we'll do it together, or DM me
- 📝1Password — what it is and why it's worth setting up once
- 📝1Password: Using It as a 2FA Authenticator (OTP) — the easiest way to do step 4