How to Secure Your Home

Read these tips and suggestions on how to secure your home to help reduce the chances of a break-in. The steps are quite simple but can provide peace of mind, additional security and perhaps save you from theft.

In this document you will find information about:
 

• Some General Safety Precautions
• Installing Lights for Protection
• Simple Non-Electric Security Devices
• Electrical and Battery-Operated Security Devices
• Improving Security with Locks

SOME GENERAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

• There is no absolute way to protect your home from break-ins. Locks and other safety devices serve primarily to prevent entry by the amateur thief and to slow or deter the professional.
  
  
• Another deterrent is to avoid regular routines that make it obvious you are away from home at specific times of the day or night. This may be unavoidable, but try to vary your routines of departure and arrival when possible.
  
  
• Never chat with a stranger about leaving your home for a vacation, a visit, etc. You never know who may be watching for an opportunity for a break-in.
  
  
• Alert your local police if you are leaving for an extended period. Stop the delivery of newspapers, mail and other items that could be telltale signs that you are away from home.
  
  
• Arrange for someone to mow your lawn in the summer or remove snow from your drive in the winter when it's necessary for the family to be away. This gives the appearance that someone is at home. Such precautions could be well worth the cost.
  
  
• Work out an arrangement with your neighbors for mutual alertness when anyone in the neighborhood will be away.
  
  
• Use any other precautions to make it appear that someone is at home at all times.

INSTALLING LIGHTS FOR PROTECTION

• Good lighting is one of the greatest deterrents to crime. You can mount floodlights or spotlights on the corner of your house to flood the walls in all directions. Such lights are inexpensive, relatively easy to mount and highly effective in reducing break-ins.
• Spotlights can be either single or double, although the double spotlight is recommended. Always mount the light high enough so it cannot be unscrewed easily by a burglar.
• Floodlights mounted high on the end of a house provide a great amount of light for a wide area. Floodlights can be either single or double, although double is strongly recommended.
• Lights mounted on either the corner or end of the house should be set in such a way that they illuminate dark areas behind rosebushes, screens, walls, trees, etc.
• Mount spotlights or floodlights in any spots around the house that could provide a hiding place for burglars or prowlers.
• In most cases you can wire spotlights or floodlights directly into the wiring system of your home. Wiring for floodlights can be tapped into the nearest outlet box.
• Before tapping into any line or circuit in the house, be sure to disconnect the power. To do this you will need to trip the circuit breaker or remove the fuse serving that circuit. For extra protection, cut off the current at the main switch while working on the wires.
• First, remove the plate over the outlet box. Attach the black wire to the black wire, the white wire to the white wire and the ground wire to the ground, as illustrated.
• If solderless connectors are code approved in your area, use them to make your electrical connections. They are much faster and easier to use.
• The wiring from the outlet box to the floodlight can be extended as far as necessary. As a rule, #14-3 wiring is adequate for lighting installations. You should check your local code for the requirements in your area. Some areas still require #12-3. The three conductors will allow you to ground any circuits that might be exposed to the weather. Securely attach the new wiring run over the entire distance from the outlet box to the location where it is mounted.
  
  

Use a junction box at the place where the spotlight is to be mounted. Simply mount the junction box, pull the wire through the hole in the junction box and mount the spotlight to the box.

You can mount floodlights at all corners and eaves of your home with little effort. If you are in an area with a high break-in rate, consider installing as many floodlights as possible. This lighting can be much cheaper than losses in a theft.

Use plug-in timers to turn the spotlights on or off when you are away. Timers can be used for activating and turning off lights in any rooms of the house.

When you use timers, do not set them for the same time. For example, light in one room might be set to come on for a short interval at about 2 a.m., while another light in another room might be set to kick on and off at a totally different time. Such variations in timing simulate a more natural lighting use to an outside observer.

Install automatic timers in the main power line to spotlights mounted around the house. These timers can be set to activate the lights at any frequency or interval desired. You should have a qualified electrician wire these into your system.

Don't overlook the security value of good lighting. It is one of the least expensive and most effective ways to reduce break-ins. Warning: Replace burned-out bulbs immediately! The whole lighting system becomes ineffective if burned-out bulbs are not quickly replaced.

SIMPLE NON-ELECTRIC SECURITY DEVICES

• To help protect against window break-ins, you can use a steel bolt or rod.
  
• First, drill a 1/2" or 3/4" hole completely through the lower sash, raise the window 3" to 4" and drill through the lower window sash hole into the upper sash. Attach a steel bolt or rod to the window casing with a long wood screw and a short length of chain.
  
  
• With this arrangement, you can raise the window slightly for air at night without the danger of someone opening it completely while you are asleep. The bolt prevents someone from raising the window rapidly against the bolt, breaking the window frame and gaining entry. Caution: Don't use a wooden dowel. They may shrink in warm weather and expand in wet, causing them to loosen, fall out or weaken. Use only a steel bolt or rod.
  
  
• This simple device provides a lot of security against break-ins at practically no cost while allowing in air at night.
  
  
• Use a piece of 2x4 with felt or sponge glued on one end and a metal T screwed to the other end to provide protection from forced entry through a hall door.
  
• Saw the 2x4 to the required length to reach from the closed door to the wall in the hallway. The felt on one end prevents the 2x4 from damaging the wall while the metal T on the other end prevents it from slipping out from under the door.
  
  
• Although this bar is obviously unsightly, use it during the night or when you are away from home and can leave the house through some other exit. It is simple but extremely effective. When this bar is in place, the door simply cannot be opened without a complete break-in.
  
• This same device can also work where there is a wall across from the doorway. Simply cut the 2x4 ends at 45-degree angles to fit across to a corner wall. Install a regular doorstop at this point along the wall to prevent the 2x4 from slipping. This gives additional security.
  
• Sliding glass doors offer an inviting entryway for burglars. Use a simple piece of 1x2 or a steel rod in the entryway.
• When in place, the piece of wood or steel makes it impossible for the sliding glass door to be opened. Since there is a danger that a steel rod might accidentally break the glass, a 1x2 strip of wood is recommended.
  
• You can use aluminum rods with crutch tips for a similar type of protection for wood sliding doors.
  
  
• The aluminum rod makes it impossible for the sliding doors to be opened until the rod is removed. Screw 1" round head screws into the edge of each door to provide holding power to prevent the aluminum rod from slipping out of place.
  
  
• One-way viewers allow you to observe any caller before you open the door. Various types of one-way viewers are available.
  
  
• Invest in a top-quality viewer. The basic difference between viewers is the range of view they provide. Low-cost viewers have a limited range while better-quality viewers provide clearer and wider ranges of vision.
  
  
• One-way viewers are easy to install. Simply drill a hole of the proper size, insert the viewer and tighten it.

 ELECTRICAL AND BATTERY-OPERATED SECURITY DEVICES

• Various types of battery-operated door alarms are now available and can be installed on any ordinary door.
  
• Battery-operated door alarms operate on one single principle: When the door is opened or forced, the alarm goes off. The noise will awaken you and may scare off the burglar.
  
  
• If you install a battery-operated door alarm, get a good-quality one that will work for a long period of time. Keep strong batteries in the alarm so it will function properly. A dead battery totally disconnects the system.
  
  
• Ultrasonic alarm devices are also available. They can be quite expensive but are highly effective.
  
  
• The ultrasonic alarm system is set up in one corner of the room. The system contains a solid-state transmitter-receiver that saturates the area with ultrasonic sound waves.
  
  
• The sound waves bounce off walls in all directions. If the sound waves are broken, the system can turn on the light, sound an alarm or both.
  
  
• Wireless intercom units provide a means to hear noise from key points around the house. These systems usually require no wiring–they are plugged into an electrical outlet.
  
  
• Wireless intercom sets allow you to communicate between various rooms in the house and also make it possible for you to listen to noises in locations throughout your home.
  
  
• Various intercom units are available. Some are wireless while others require a wiring system.

IMPROVING SECURITY WITH LOCKS

• A typical lock offers little protection against break-ins. A professional burglar can usually enter the house with no more than a plastic credit card or a thin screwdriver.
  
• Cylinder deadlocks provide a great deal of extra protection when used as a supplement to the regular locks in your home.
  
  
• A tubular deadlock adds protection without an unsightly appearance. Double tubular deadlocks can be installed in any door.
  
  
• Double tubular deadlocks generally require a key to open the door from either side. This could present a problem exiting the house in an emergency. But some tubular deadlocks can be opened without a key from the inside.
  
  
• Surface-mounted cylinder deadlocks are easy to mount on any door.door.
  
  
• The deadlock has a bolt in the lock that come down through the holes in the strike. This offers far more protection against jimmying than an ordinary surface-mounted cylinder deadlock.
  
• The basic disadvantage of surface-mounted deadlocks is their unsightly appearance, but designs are available in decorator styling.
  
• Examine the locks in your home carefully. If they are old, worn or fail to give the needed protection, install new or supplementary locks immediately. It is well worth your time and effort.

TOOL AND MATERIAL CHECKLIST

 

• Spotlight Bulbs
• Automatic Timer
• Rubber Cement
• Folding Rule
• Stepladder
• Short Pieces of 1x2
• Outlet Box
• Plug-In Timer
• Hand Drill
• Felt or Rubber Sheeting
• Junction Box
• Electrical Wire
• One-Way Viewer
• Battery-Operated Door Alarm
• Crutch Tips
• Handsaw
• Spotlights
• Power Drill
• Screwdriver
• Wireless Intercom System
• Steel Rod

Check your state and local codes before starting any project. Follow all safety precautions. Information in this document has been furnished by the National Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) and associated contributors. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and safety. Neither NRHA, any contributor nor the retailer can be held responsible for damages or injuries resulting from the use of the information in this document.

 

 

 

15 Great Ways to Secure Your Website

Since there are no point and click software, like an Anti Virus solution, available to secure a website, people just consider the job is done once the website is up. It definitely is not. Protecting a website or webserver is possible only by continued efforts. Unlike a poorly protected desktop in your place of business, a hacked website will reflect poorly on you, your business or brand.

With the sheer volume of zero day threats emanating all the time, there may not be fit it and forget solutions for protecting a website. But there are always some time tested fundamental ground work that should be done to get the first line of defense up while figuring out a detailed security plan. After the fold comes a list of 15 tips that can help you lay the foundation for web security.

Use Open Source Scripts

OpenSource Scripts

Unless you know what you are doing or have a well versed development team in your payroll, it is a great idea to use open source scripts. Open source scripts like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Magento etc. are feature rich, powerful and are backed by thousands of coders for update & support.
This avoids websites falling prey to hackers & spammers due to poorly written code. Instead of building from scratch, you can use the existing scripts and modify them to your liking. Commercial scripts from reputed companies can also be deployed if they issue updates & patches regularly.

Update Constantly

New features or not, upgrade to newer versions of scripts as soon as they are released. Point upgrades mostly fix bugs in the script and are as important as a full version upgrade. If you are not sure whether the new update will break your customization, ask in the support forums and do not wait till you get your customization to be fixed before applying an update.

Use Strong Passwords

Passwords like “loveydovey123”, “unicornlover” are definitely not cute and it is absolutely reckless to even consider using them. Your password does not have to reflect your “inner persona”  as they are supposed to keep things safe.

Use a combination of alphabets, numbers and special characters and make sure they are atleast 10 characters long. Apps like Lastpass, KeePass etc. can help you generate strong passwords and to store them as well.

Secure Admin Email Address

Keep the admin email address used to login to your webserver, CMS, database etc. away from the public eye. Use a totally different address in your contact page. This will help from not being scammed by a phising email disguised to have been sent by your hosting company or domain registrar.

Add a Database Table Prefix

Database Table Prefix

If you are using a CMS, blog or forum script, change the default database table prefix. For example in case of WordPress, the default database table prefix is “wp”. So if a brilliant hacker finds a way to extract data from a database, default table prefixes will leave you a sitting duck.

Password protect the Database

Database Password

It is not a mandatory requirement in a lot of scripts to enter a database password and leaving them empty will still get the script installed. An empty password is a criminal waste of an additional layer of security. Database password do not slow down the website when querying the database, so there is absolutely no reason not to have one.

Delete the Installation Folder

Renamed Installer Folder

Once the installation is done there is no use for the installer folder in the day to day operations of a website. It is very much possible for a hacker to run the installer once again, empty the database and take control of the website & its content. Ideally it is strongly advised to delete the folder once the installation is complete, but if you know your way around the web server, you can also opt to rename the folder.

Change File & Folder Permissions

Permissions

Some scripts require full read & write access while installation. This can achieved by using the 777 code on vital folders like config, admin etc. Revert the file permissions back to their original code, say 755 or 644. A file or folder with full read write code gives easy access to inject malicious code in your website.

Use Secured FTP Access

If your webserver or ISP support SFTP access, jump at the opportunity and upload files to your server in fully encrypted glory. Nobody can sniff what you are uploading or downloading to & from the webserver.

Restrict Root Access

Be it may FTP or Database, never give root access to everyone willy nilly. Restrict access to certain non system folders in the case of FTP uploads by people other than the system administrator.

Ensure the presence of .htaccess file

.htaccess files are often used to specify the security restrictions for the particular directory, and make sure you have not deleted it by accident or if it is there in the first place.

Add robots.txt file

robots.txt gives special instructions to search engine spiders as to which folders are to be indexed and which ones are not. Folders with documents, images etc can be kept under wraps from being indexed and displayed in public web searches.

Use security plugins

Mature platforms always have plugins to extend the core functionality of the script. Look for plugins that add an extra layer of security and install them. For example, WP Security Scan plugin checks if most of the steps I have mentioned above have been implemented properly in a WordPress installation.

Read leading Tech Blogs

Keep yourself updated on the latest vulnerabilities, bugs and attacks on the Internet. There will be a time delay before the patches are issued and this information will help you protect your website or to temporarily take it offline if there is a very serious threat. Wired’s Threat Level and Kreb’s on Security are good places to begin.

Stay away from Nulled Scripts & Themes

Piracy of commercial scripts and paid themes is the easiest among all other forms of piracy. Smaller file sizes, absence of version specific keygen, cumbersome Daemons, DLL patches & cracks make it a cake walk to pirate a script rather than a software or PC Game.

However, unlike pirated desktop software where a hidden malware is removed by the Anti Virus software, there is no way you can escape the backdoor added to the codebase. Even for a seasoned programmer, it is impossible to go through thousands of lines of code to check if the script is free of backboors.

A nulled script or theme with a backdoor ensures that the hacker peddling it in the first place has gotten himself a free server to spam people with mails promising to enhance things that cannot be enhanced. If you are lucky, your website might not used for anti government propaganda or for distributing child pornography. Unless you so love orange jumpsuits or better yet, would love to go on an all expenses paid trip to a certain facility in Cuba, stay away from nulled scripts. Nulled scripts hurt the pirate worse than the developer. Enough said.

 

How to be Secure in a Relationship

What it Means to be Secure in a Relationship

When you are secure in your relationship you are totally confident about yourself and your partner. You have enough self esteem to know that your partner is not cheating on you or lying about things and you do not spend all of you time worried about what they are doing. You are still in love with the person but have your own life and could be just fine living on your own.

When you are secure, your mood does not depend on how your relationship is going that day. Insecurity can lead to you depending on that other person to make you feel worthy and wanted. If you are not secure in your relationship it most likely will not last long. Your partner will see that they have to spend too much time making you feel good instead of just enjoying you and having fun together.

Are You Insecure in Your Relationship?

If you are insecure in your relationship then there are some things that need to change. Not only will becoming secure help your relationship, it will also help you have more confidence and boost your self-esteem. If you are insecure because of something your partner has done then maybe the issue lies with them.
Either way, you need to find the root of your insecurity and bring it to a halt. Otherwise, you will not have a successful life or relationship.

How to Stop Being Insecure in Your Relationship

Stopping insecurity can be difficult because it is part of your personality. You have probably formed habits because of your insecurity like looking through your partners things or finding other ways to spy on them even if they have never broken your trust. These habits can be stopped by forming new habits that make you feel good about yourself. Over time, you won't even think about the old ones because you are too busy loving yourself and your partner to let those old ghosts out of the closet.

You need to do things for you in order to feel secure. Maybe you are just insecure with your looks or your body so you fear your partner will look for someone else. Here are some new things to try to get you feeling better about your appearance so you know your partner is not going to wander:

• Join a gym. Making exercise a part of your life will be a huge boost to your confidence and how you feel about yourself. Not only will your body look great but you will also feel better mentally.
• Do something new for yourself. The possibilities here are endless. You can get a new haircut, new clothes, get your nails done, anything that makes you feel good. Don't worry about whether or not your partner is going to like it. This is completely for yourself and should be something you want and enjoy.

If you are insecure because of things your partner says or does maybe it's time to reevaluate who you are with. Some people are manipulative and know the things they say and do will affect you so they will purposefully make you feel insecure with yourself, and in turn, you will depend on them to make yourself feel better. Here are some red flags to look out for in your relationship:

• Your partner constantly puts you down and reassures you that they are there for you. This is manipulation at its finest. They make sure you know you are not good enough but they "love you anyways".
• You are worried that they will cheat because they have done it in the past. Some people can get over it and rebuild trust and some can't. This depends on how much you really love the person and whether or not you can look past what they have done.

 

What Do You Need To Feel Secure?

One value that seems to hold a lot of people back from setting and achieving big goals is the need for security. Security is a feeling of certainty that everything is OK and that all your basic needs will be provided for. On the surface there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s great to feel secure. Abraham Maslow lists it as one of the basic human needs. If we don’t feel secure, we can’t move onto higher levels like love and self-actualization. If we have doubts about paying the rent at the end of the month, how can we possibly go after our really big dreams? You gotta feel secure first, right?

So how is it that most self-made millionaires in America started broke or in debt? How is it that some people are able to start a new business while completely broke and with little or no income and with no guarantee of success? Do entrepreneurial risk takers simply have a lower need for security? If you read the biographies of very successful people, you see a common pattern again and again — from an external point of view, most of these people were not in a secure situation when they started going after their dreams. Sylvester Stallone was so broke he had to sell his dog in order to afford to keep shopping around his Rocky script (which no one would buy). Tony Robbins did his dishes in his bathtub because his tiny apartment had no kitchen. Brian Tracy was a day laborer. Og Mandino was a homeless drunk who wandered into libraries to stay warm. Babe Ruth started out in an orphanage. While some successful people start out with a lot of advantages, most don’t.

Meanwhile, how is it that others who seem to be in a far more financially secure situation are paralyzed from taking action? People who have some money in the bank, a nice home, and a steady paycheck still don’t feel secure. Meanwhile, others with far worse starting positions pass them by. Why?

The reason isn’t that some people need security more than others. I think everyone needs to feel secure. The difference, however, is that the entrepreneurial-minded define security internally while others define security externally.

For example, those who can’t seem to take action will typically define security as $X in the bank, a house that’s fully paid for, a stable high-paying job with benefits, a solid relationship with the boss, a car that runs well, etc. Security is all about the externals. If the externals are stable, this person feels secure. But when the externals are threatened, such as the possibility of getting laid off, then this person doesn’t feel secure. This person will spend a lot of time striving to get these external factors in order.

But the entrepreneurial action-takers define security internally. Security comes from trusting in yourself — in your ability to think and to take action. As long as you have the ability to think and take action, you’re secure. Given this mindset you could be homeless and still feel secure. Why? Because you still have the ability to think and act — your homelessness is only a temporary setback. It’s not a threat to your security. So even while you may be in a financially unstable situation, external circumstances don’t threaten your security. Your security is guaranteed. It cannot be turned off by external events.

Now when it comes time to take action, you can see why one group will be paralyzed, while the other group will speed ahead. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, security is a more basic need than self-actualization. This means that you won’t be able to fully set and achieve big goals if you don’t feel secure. Security has to come first.

So given that most people don’t start out with sufficient resources to satisfy the external definition of security, those that define their security this way won’t be able to take action to go after their dreams until all the external factors are met. They’ll be waiting and waiting until they have enough money to feel secure, and only after that happens will they be able to go after their dreams. Most of the time, this will never happen — the person will die before they satisfy all these external factors. On the other hand, if they do manage to acquire sufficient resources to pursue their dreams, and their security is again threatened (for example, they lose too much money), then it’s time to put the dreams on hold and re-establish external security. This is a hugely ineffective way to pursue your dreams. In most cases it just won’t work at all. You’ll spend your whole life pursuing security instead of self-actualizing. And sadly, this is what most people currently do.

Now consider the entrepreneurial group who defines security internally. All you need to feel secure is to think and to take action. You don’t need any specific set of external circumstances to feel secure. You’re already secure because you believe in yourself. So you can move straight on to self-actualization, and you can stay there. You can continue to work on your dreams without pause. There’s no need to stop and satisfy some external need for security.

Having an external locus of control is paralyzing. If you define security externally, you’ll always be victimized by factors outside your control. But an internal locus of control is empowering. If you define security internally, you’ll always have that need met, no matter what happens outside your control. And thus, you’ll always be able to take action on your dreams, no matter what happens.

So how do you move from one group to the other? It’s nothing more than a choice. Just as you may have chosen to define security externally, you can choose to do the opposite. You can choose to look externally for verification of who you are and what you’re capable of (this is what most people do). Or you can look internally instead.

Believing that you can handle anything that comes your way is a choice. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to acquire a quantity of external validation to somehow earn permission to work on your dreams. You don’t need permission. You don’t need the external world to say, “OK, you’ve finally met the basic security requirements. You now have authorization to work on your dreams, as long as you maintain your current level of external security.”

Yes, it really is that simple, as stupid as it may seem. There’s no physical law that says you have to meet some arbitrary external security requirements before you can go after your dreams. You can be starting broke and in debt with no stable income, and you can still spend the bulk of your time going after your dreams. People keep doing this over and over and succeeding.

If you define security internally (and you’re completely free to select this option), many obstacles that seemed to hold you back will just melt away. While you should pay attention to possibilities like running out of money, most people overemphasize these obstacles and become paralyzed by them.

Money is an important resource to be sure. But time is far more important. When you run out of time, then you’re really done. But what happens when you run out of money? Did you know that you can run out of money and just keep on going? Running out of money doesn’t mean you have to stop living, and it doesn’t mean you have to stop going after your dreams. You don’t automatically die when you run out of money. No referee will show up and haul you off the field. The game doesn’t suddenly end.

The typical self-made millionaire has been broke or nearly broke an average of 3.2 times before making their first million. There are consequences to going broke, and you may need to tighten your belt for a while, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop. Running out of money is largely an imaginary obstacle. For those who define security externally, running out of money is a huge personal threat, something to be avoided at all costs. But for those who define security internally, running out of money is just a temporary setback. Donald Trump experienced this setback, as did Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln, and many others who went after their dreams with tenacity.

It doesn’t matter where you’re starting from… whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur, whether you have a lot of cash or are broke and in debt. Time is so much more precious than money. You can afford to lose all your money in the pursuit of your dreams. You can go broke over and over and just keep on going. But what you cannot afford to lose is time. Money can be restored. Time cannot. Even if you have no money at all, you can still think and take action. But when you run out of time, that’s it — game over. Each day of your life that passes is another day gone, never to return again. If you are paralyzing yourself with an external definition of security, you’re squandering your life away. If you aren’t spending your precious time working on your dreams — today, right now — then you’re just counting the days until you die. That external security will never come. The external factors will never be just right. If you are waiting for external security, you’re waiting for death. And in the meantime, you’re forgetting to live.

 

How to Be Secure

Many people want to know the answer to this question: How do I feel secure? While it's not simple, it is achievable. Realize that it is commonplace to feel insecure but that there are achievable ways to improve your self-confidence and to be a happy, outgoing person.  

 

Steps

1. Never let others justify your existence. Be strong. Only you can be who you are, so be yourself and enjoy it. Revel in the reality that everyone is different, including you.
2. Live for the moment. If you are agonizing over the past or where you're headed, you are doomed to a lifetime of living somewhere else. Bring yourself back to the here and now. Be present. Enjoy whatever you're doing, even if it's tedious, mundane, or unpleasant. There is always something worthwhile to be found in your activity to anchor you.
3. Tell yourself that you are a confident, secure person. In telling yourself, you will succeed in convincing yourself. Insecurity is a state of mind enhanced by the word. If someone tells you what you are, dismiss this judgment, because it's usually them reflecting their "insecurities" on you!
4. 4
   Don't become so absorbed in your "insecurities" that you don't realize when someone is being mean or unkind to you. If someone doesn't like you and makes you feel hurt, (which will and does happen 24/7 to everybody), realize it's their problem, not yours. The "hurt" that you experience is a desired result of theirs, not an automatic reaction to hold. Learn to push aside the daily unkindnesses and replace them with rational thoughts instead of gut feelings. Try it: "It is their issue, not my personality".
5. Alter what you don't like about yourself instead of dwelling on your faults. A person who consistently says they can't, can't. Don't get that way in the first place; act now rather than mope all the time.
6. Think outwardly but don't forget about yourself. You must be at peace with yourself before you can be at peace with the world around you, you must love yourself before you can love others, you must give to yourself before you can give to others. Your insecurities are not minimal; they define how you interact with others, so it is crucial to fix yourself before you fix anything else.
7. Remind yourself that nobody knows you better than you! And like it that way; stop worrying that "nobody will ever really understand you". That's cringe-factor thinking and will lead you into a blind alley of self-pity all of your life. Put it this way: Are you willing to put in the effort to truly know someone else inside out the way you want someone to know you inside out? Starts feeling creepy doesn't it? Keep some things for yourself, always. People will know more than enough about you given time.
8. Think ahead and make the right decisions towards a brighter future. You can't change who you were, only who you will become.
9. Decide where you want to be in 10 years' time and make it happen. For instance, do you want to live in that big house near town? Plan, save money, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. If you don't have a plan, you'll be easily persuaded by other people's maps.
10. Remember that everybody is plagued by insecurities, some just choose not to dwell on them. Be one of the people who don't dwell It doesn't mean your anger, frustration and hurt goes away but it does mean you deal with these feelings far more constructively and don't let them eat you up and stop you from doing things in life.
11. Look at people when they're talking to you, and when you want their attention. If someone says "Hi" to you, greet them back. If you don't answer them, you'll feel weird and they'll think the same. You are there, you can't pretend you're not, so be communicative in the best possible way.
    
    

Tips

• Get enough sleep.
• If you're a teen: realize most teens feel emotionally and/or physically insecure at some stage; it's a turbulent and changing time.
• If you feel like life's too much to handle sometimes, don't bottle it up - vent it. Either on paper, to a friend, or a trained counselor, just let it out.
• Don't let insecurities take over your life, because they're not there! Have you ever seen an insecurity?
• Keep reminding yourself "I am in control" whenever you feel insecure or paranoid. On the bus, in the car, at work, or in class, even watching TV - keep repeating it to yourself until it clicks.
• Remember, we are made up of our flaws as well as our good points.
• Even if it feels like the whole world is against you, be good to yourself. Remember, "this too shall pass."
• If you're a student, be in school every day. Learning is necessary, and school is one of the few things you have control of in your life.
• Smile - You're not hurting yourself by being pleasant.
• Don't engage in sexual endeavors that could affect your self esteem; once you do something like that it leaves an emotional scar that you can't shake.

Warnings

• If your insecurities feel overwhelming, and you feel like you can't handle it, there's no shame in asking for help.
• Be nice to people, even if you think they don't like you. Maybe they're just insecure; however, if they are persistently rude, stop interacting with them at anything more than a superficially polite level. Never give details so they can't hang anything off your comments.
• Check out "how to be yourself all the time"
• Don't always think negative about yourself, keep your head held high and always tell yourself the positive things about yourself just don't confuse that with being big headed because you might come off as being conceited.