Happy (early) Independence Day! To most Americans, the 4^th of July means fireworks, great food and celebrating the country’s birthday alongside family and friends.

To make the most out of this year’s holiday, it’s important to take the necessary measures to stay safe online and free of digital threats.

Make use of a VPN

Independence Day weekend is a popular time to travel, which means that many people will find themselves using open Wi-Fi networks.

Using an unsecured Wi-Fi network in a café, airport, or hotel is a serious security risk that requires additional protection to protect your data and computer. Business travelers and vacationers don’t have to worry about the security of their devices when using free Wi-Fi if they use a VPN. 

Check out six reasons to use Avast SecureLine VPN and stay secure during the holiday weekend.

Step up your password game

The recent news of celebrity social media accounts -- including those of Mark Zuckerberg -- being hacked should be seen as an important reminder to how valuable passwords are. You've seen the rules before: Use long, strong passwords that mix letters, numbers, special characters, and capital letters and avoid using the same password on different accounts.

Avast Passwords is a password manager included in Avast Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, and Premier. Avast Passwords helps you manage passwords across all your devices and all you need to remember is one main password!

Avast Passwords automatically imports passwords stored in your browser and when you need to create a new password, all you do is click a button and a secure password is automatically generated and stored. Avast Passwords is available for Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. Even better -- you can sync your passwords with other devices when they are connected to the same Avast account. Opera and Google Chrome are supported on Android phones, and Apple Safari on iPhones.

Keep your software updated

It's vital that you frequently update all software, including your operating system, on a regular basis.

Update Windows: The “Updates are available” Windows pop-ups may sometimes seem annoying, but they are important. You should update Windows with each available update. You can check which updates are available in Windows 10, by clicking on the Microsoft start button -> Settings -> Windows Update. (See here for Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1).

Updating all other software: An easy way to update all other software on your PC is by using Avast Software Updater, which is integrated in all Avast PC products for free. To check for updates, open Avast -> click on “Scan” -> then on “Scan for outdated software” and then click on “Update”. If you have Avast Premier, you can activate automatic updates.