Cyber Security For Normal People: Protect Yourself Online (Udemy.com)
Lock hackers, identity thieves and cyber criminals out of your life for good with this step-by-step cyber security guide
Created by: Brad Merrill
Last updated November 2021
What you will learn
- Become aware of the most common cyber security threats
- Develop the right mindset and browsing habits for security
- Secure your smartphone and all the information it knows about you
- Easily create and manage strong, unique passwords for all of your accounts
- Use two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to your accounts
- Use encryption to make your private data unreadable to attackers
How it compares
Against the other 523 rated Udemy courses in Hacking on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.5 out of 5higher than 51% of them
- Reviews11,682#17 of 524 by number of reviews
- Length1.6 hoursshorter than 88% of them
- Last updatedNovember 2021earlier than 75% of them
Course Description
This course is an actionable, step-by-step beginner's guide to locking hackers, identity thieves, and cyber criminals out of your life once and for all.
Today's reality is yesterday's science fiction.
You can have a real-time video conversation with someone on the other side of the planet, you can send and receive money without even taking out your wallet, and you can post content online that reaches millions of people in a matter minutes.
Unfortunately, the same technology that enables all this new freedom and convenience also exposes us to new security threats that we've never encountered.
Malware that infects your computer and watches everything you do, phishing scams that steal private information from millions of people—today's digital world is a criminal's playground. It makes the process of stealing money or even stealing someone's entire identity way more efficient.
The worst part? You are a target.
Many people neglect taking steps to protect themselves online because they think, "Why would anyone want to steal my information?"
Well, for starters, if you have any money to your name at all, there are plenty of tech-savvy criminals out there who are patiently waiting for the opportunity to take it from you.
Beyond that, they can also steal your identity to run up charges on your credit cards, open new utility accounts, get medical treatment using your health insurance, or take advantage of your friends and family by impersonating you on social media.
So what can you do?
You can protect yourself and your private data, and you don't have to be an IT expert to do it.
This course outlines a step-by-step roadmap that you can follow to build a tight wall of security around your digital life.
More specifically, here are some of the things we'll cover:
- Why security matters, and how to best approach it
- The most common security threats you should be aware of
- How to develop the right mindset and browsing habits
- How to secure your smartphone and all the private information it knows about you
- The 25 most commonly used passwords (is yours on the list?)
- What makes a good password (123456 is not a good password)
- How to create and manage strong, unique passwords for all of your accounts (without needing to remember them)
- How to lock attackers out of your accounts even if they manage to steal your passwords
- A security hole that attackers can use to gain unfettered access to your accounts without knowing your passwords (and how you can defend yourself)
- How to use the power of encryption to make your private data unreadable to attackers
Again, this is a beginner-level course. These are technical topics, but I hope to walk you through everything in a way that's actionable and easy to understand. (And if you have any questions along the way, all you have to do is ask.)
I'm confident that this course will change the way you look at security, and my confidence is backed by Udemy's 30-day money back guarantee. If you don't love it, you get a full refund—no questions asked. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.
If you haven't already, be sure to enroll in the course! I can't wait to see you inside.
Instructor Details
- 4.5 Rating
11,682 Reviews
Brad Merrill
Brad Merrill is the CEO of Merrill Media, a modern holding company focused on building independent, scalable businesses at the intersection of technology and media. He is regarded as an expert in his field, teaching business and technology courses to more than 100,000 students and providing marketing training to a number of prominent startups and Fortune 500 companies.
Merrill considers himself a passionate creative: he loves creating articles, videos, websites, companies, workflows, and new ideas. He has been creating things on the web since 2007, working on dozens of projects and reaching tens of millions of people in the process.
In 2010, Merrill founded VentureBreak, which became a leading source of news about innovation for forward-thinking entrepreneurs, investors, business executives, and interested consumers. Under his leadership, VentureBreak served more than half a million monthly readers, appeared regularly on Techmeme, and found itself cited by a number of notable publications, including the Wall Street Journal. While at the helm, Merrill personally interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs and industry luminaries, sharing their stories with VentureBreak’s global audience. In 2015, VentureBreak was acquired by the organizer of Europe’s largest technology meetup.
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Reviews
By Dan Burke on 4/21/2026
All the chapters were clear and concise, and went into enough detail so that the lessons within them can be implemented easily. Brad Merrill also delivered the material very well, and has an engaging presence.
By Mark Munker on 1/9/2025
Some info i wasnt familiar with but for the most part it was a well done refresher course; never hurts and gives a person an idea where theyre at and some needed direction in which to consider as options
By Anonymized User on 12/22/2022
It cover all fundamental security aspects for PC, Mac and mobile devices (IOS & Android). Effective, clear and concise instructions to improve your protection against any unknown cybersecurity threats.
By Anonymized User on 2/12/2021
That was short course, with enough essential info(we could have more talking about Email as there is a lot way to make sure it is not dangerous). I like the part that showing how to set security measurement in different OS.
By Dawn Guerrero on 5/4/2020
This course made me realize that I still have more to learn about being safe & secure with all of my information. Definitely opened my eyes to be more mindful of everything I do, both on my phone & on my computer.
By Anonymized User on 4/3/2020
Learned a lot about some of the systems that I had no idea what they do (like VPN clients). Love the advice on password creation and management. This is definitely the take away in this course for me.
By Anonymized User on 2/13/2020
Learned some things not covered in other courses but an included transcript would have been helpful as so much information was covered and instructor moved quickly through the topics.
By Anonymized User on 1/29/2020
Was required by my employer. Most of the information I already knew because I'm a big believer in Cyber-Security. While I knew most of the information, the course was extremely well discussed and easy to understand.
By Allan Silva on 12/29/2019
I've been learn more about how much dangerous the internet can be if you don't protect your data, and learn about the tips of "information's thieves". By this way, I could learn more about encryption
By Luis Casillas on 11/25/2019
the teacher seems to know the prespective from a non tecnical side so it is very esay to understand. I will just try adding some information about the aftermath of been compromised in any form since the only scenario you looked at was the ransomware
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 90 / 100












