Online Safety Quiz

Five questions, about two minutes

This quiz checks the fundamentals rather than trivia: password practice, recognising phishing, safe use of public networks, software updates, and what a padlock in the address bar does and does not tell you. Each answer comes with an explanation, so a wrong response is more useful than a right one.

The ideas the questions are built on

Length beats complexity in passwords

A long passphrase of ordinary words resists attack better than a short string of substituted symbols, and it is far easier to remember. Reuse is the bigger problem though — one breached site becomes every site when the same password is shared across accounts.

Urgency is the tell

Phishing depends on you acting before you think, which is why almost every message manufactures a deadline. Slowing down defeats most of them without any technical knowledge at all.

The padlock means encrypted, not trustworthy

HTTPS certificates are free and automated. A fraudulent site can display the same padlock your bank does. It confirms the connection is encrypted; it says nothing about who is on the other end.

Updates are security work

Most successful attacks exploit flaws that were fixed months earlier. Automatic updates on your operating system, browser and phone close more real-world risk than almost anything else you can do.

Public Wi-Fi is a shared space

On an open network you are sharing a broadcast medium with strangers, and a network name is trivially easy to imitate. Verify the name with staff, and avoid banking on networks you do not control unless you are using a VPN.

Two-factor authentication

If you take one action after this quiz, make it this. Two-factor authentication means a stolen password alone is not enough to reach your account. An authenticator app is stronger than SMS codes, which can be intercepted through SIM-swap attacks, and a hardware key is stronger still. Start with email and banking — email is the account that can reset all the others.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the online safety quiz take?

About two minutes. There are five questions, each with a short explanation of the correct answer.

Do I need to sign up or give an email address?

No. The quiz runs entirely in your browser. There is no signup, and your answers are not transmitted or stored.

What topics does the quiz cover?

Password practice, recognising phishing messages, using public Wi-Fi safely, keeping software updated, and what HTTPS and the padlock icon actually indicate.

What is the single most useful thing I can do for my account security?

Enable two-factor authentication, starting with your email account, since email can be used to reset the passwords of most other accounts. An authenticator app is more secure than SMS codes.