New to GitHub? Secure Your Account in Minutes 🔐

[ghostinhershell]

Keeping your GitHub account and repositories secure is key to protecting your code, personal data, and contributions. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to level up your security, here are some simple but important steps to keep everything safe.

🔑 Securing Your GitHub Account

• Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
  Adding an extra layer of security with 2FA helps prevent unauthorized access to your account. You can enable this under Settings > Password and authentication. Note that, as of March 2023, GitHub requires all users who contribute code on GitHub.com to enable one or more forms of two-factor authentication (2FA).
  • Lost access to your 2FA credentials? Recovering your account if you lose your 2FA credentials. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, check out potaders post Keeping Your Account Safe With 2FA Fallbacks
  • Have any additional questions about 2FA? Check out our FAQ: Two Factor Authentication Frequently Asked Questions 🔑 🗝️
• Use a Strong, Unique Password
  Avoid reusing passwords and consider using a password manager.
• Review and Revoke Access Tokens
  Regularly check Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens to ensure only necessary tokens remain active.
• Monitor for Suspicious Activity
  Check your security log to see if there are any unexpected login attempts or changes.

🔐 Managing Repository Access and Permissions

• Set Appropriate Permissions
  Only grant write or admin access to those who need it. Use read-only access for contributors who don’t need to modify the code.
• Use Teams for Collaboration
  Did you know you can create collaboration teams on GitHub? If you're working within an organization, set up teams with proper access levels instead of granting direct repository access.

Who has access to your repository—and what they can do—matters when it comes to keeping your code safe. A good rule of thumb? Only give people the access they actually need. If someone just needs to view the code, stick with read-only permissions. Remove access for users who no longer need it. For teams, set up roles instead of handing out direct access to individuals. And don’t forget to check in on permissions from time to time—things change, and keeping access up to date helps prevent security risks down the road.

To learn more about keeping your repositories safe, check out our community post: Securing your public GitHub Repos for Free! 🚀

🙈 Best Practices for Handling Sensitive Data and Secrets

• Never Store Secrets in Repositories!!!
  Storing secrets like API keys or passwords in your repository is a major security risk. Even in private repos, access settings can change, and once a secret is committed, it stays in Git history—making it hard to fully remove. Attackers even scan public repos for exposed credentials, so a leak can be compromised in seconds. Instead, use environment variables. Secret Scanning can also help catch accidental leaks.
  • Excited to learn more about implementing Secret Scanning in your repos? Check out our community post Secret Scanning Basics
• Ignore Files You Don’t Want to Commit
  A .gitignore file is a plain text file that contains a list of all the specified files and folders from the project that Git should ignore and not track. You can add sensitive files (e.g., .env, config.json) to your .gitignore to prevent them from being accidentally committed.

⚠️ My Account Has Been Suspended! – What Should I Do?

This is a question that I see a fair share of in this community. If your GitHub account has been suspended, we recommend the following:

• First, Review GitHub’s Terms of Service
  Ensure that you haven’t violated any policies.
• If you’re sure your account did not violate our ToS, Contact GitHub Support
  Submit a request via GitHub Support to inquire about your account status and next steps.

🚨Please note that account suspensions cannot be resolved in the Community, nor can we escalate your ticket.

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By taking these steps, you can keep your account, code, and collaborators safe from security risks. Got any questions or tips of your own? Share them in the discussion below! 💬

[ghostinhershell]

Hey there! 👋🏾

Missed out on our last community check-in? You can check that out here: Clone, Commit, Conquer: Your New to GitHub Community Check-In 💪.