One computer for the whole family is normal, and the problem is not mistrust. It is simply that when everyone works under one account, saved passwords, history and open sessions become shared — and one person's mistake affects everybody.
At home: separate accounts
This is the one setting that solves the problem completely. Everything else is a half-measure.
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An account each
Even with a single computer. Everyone gets their own desktop, their own browser passwords, their own history. Switching takes a couple of seconds and accidental overlaps stop happening.
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A login password and automatic locking
Without a password the separation is decorative. Auto-lock after five minutes means nobody has to remember.
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A child's account without administrator rights
Then installing software requires your password. That cuts off most of the ways something unwanted arrives on the computer.
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A password manager each, for the adults
Shared access goes through a shared vault, not through a shared browser profile.
On someone else’s computer
A library, a hotel, a co-working space, a colleague's machine. The rule here is simple: assume everything you type is being recorded.
| What | Is it OK? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Look up a timetable, a map, the news | Yes | Nothing gets typed in |
| Sign into a social network | Better not | The session may stay active |
| Sign into email | No | Everything else is recovered through it |
| Sign into your bank | No | Never, under any circumstances |
| Plug in your phone to charge | No | A port can carry data, not only power |
| Print a document from a USB stick | With care | The file stays in the print queue and in temporary folders |
If you had to sign in
What else to check after using someone else's device is in signs of a break-in. Travel and hotel computers are covered separately.