Longer reads
The tool pages on this site answer a single question quickly. These guides go further: they are the pieces worth sitting down with, aimed at actually changing how you or your family handle something. Every one is written in plain English, kept current, and free of the jargon that makes security advice easy to ignore.
How to start using a password manager
The single change that fixes password reuse for good — explained without jargon, with a realistic plan for getting there in a week rather than an afternoon.
Read the guide → ACCOUNT SECURITYHow to secure your email account
If you only protect one account properly, make it this one. Everything else can be reset through it — which is exactly why attackers go for it first.
Read the guide → IF IT HAS HAPPENEDYou've been scammed: the first 24 hours
The order you do things in matters enormously. This is what to do, in sequence, starting right now — plus what is realistically recoverable and what is not.
Read the guide → ADULTS & SENIORSPhone scams: a plain-English guide
Written to be read by anyone, and to be shared with the people in your family who get these calls. No jargon, no lectures.
Read the guide → FAMILIESA parent's guide to online gaming safety
Games are where most children meet strangers online. Here is what the real risks look like, which controls are worth setting, and what to say.
Read the guide → SMALL BUSINESSCyber security basics for very small businesses
What to do first when you have no IT department, a limited budget, and a business that cannot afford a week of downtime.
Read the guide →How to use them
If nothing has gone wrong yet, start with the password manager guide and the email security guide. Between them they remove most of the realistic risk to your accounts, and both are one-off jobs rather than ongoing effort.
If you are worried about a parent or grandparent, the phone scam guide is written to be read by anyone and shared without causing offence. If you have children, the gaming safety guide covers what actually happens to them online, which is usually not what parents expect.
If something has already happened, go straight to the first 24 hours checklist. The order you do things in has a direct effect on what can be recovered.
How these are written
Each guide is written from scratch for this site rather than assembled from other articles, reviewed against current guidance from recognised national cyber security agencies, and dated so you can see how fresh it is. Where advice has changed — and a fair amount of standard security advice has aged badly — we say so and explain why rather than repeating it.
We also try to be honest about limits. No tool or article makes anyone immune, and advice that overpromises tends to get discarded the first time it fails. Our editorial policy sets out how the material is produced, reviewed and corrected.
Frequently asked questions
Are these guides free to read?
Yes. Everything on this site is free, with no accounts, sign-ups or paywalls. The site is funded by advertising rather than by charging readers.
Which guide should I read first?
If nothing has gone wrong, start with the password manager guide and the email security guide. If something has already happened, read the first 24 hours checklist instead.
How often are the guides updated?
Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed. We revisit them when guidance changes or a new scam pattern becomes common enough to matter.
Can I share these with family?
Yes, and the phone scam guide in particular is written to be shared directly with older relatives without sounding like a warning aimed at them.