Update your stuff!
The most important factor to not get hacked is to update. You might say "windows updater sucks", or "I don't like waiting" but you most definitely don't want to get hacked. What is more troubling is that 3rd party smartphone vendors (xiaomi, samsung etc.) have to modify the security updates that come from google to make it run on their version of the OS, thus creating a delay. Please, take a minute to skim through the latest (March 2024) monthly android security bulletin. There are 3 critical vulnerabilities and a bunch of high severity. If you don't update in a timely manner you will eventually get hacked.
Hacking events
I don't know who needs to hear this but people are gathering in events to demonstrate their new 0-days and get paid for it. This month was the Pwn2Own Vancouver. Hackers demoed 29 0-days. Let me say this more clearly. These people showed 29 different ways to get full access to your devices. All modern operating systems are affected like windows, macOS, linux, even virtualization software like VirtualBox, VMware and Docker, and even Tesla cars! You cannot escape this unsafe digital world, these vulnerabilities affect you. For desktop take extra care to update your browsers because they are the frontier of anything you do online. In Pwn2Own Vancouver 2024 there was 4 chrome/edge 0-days, 1 safari and 1 firefox. If you don't update you will get hacked just by by visiting a website. About mobile just read the 2023 Pwn2Own in Toronto:
The Pwn2Own Toronto 2023 hacking competition has ended with security researchers earning $1,038,500 for 58 zero-day exploits (and multiple bug collisions) targeting consumer products between October 24 and October 27.
The complete list includes mobile phones (i.e., the Apple iPhone 14, Google Pixel 7, Samsung Galaxy S23, and Xiaomi 13 Pro), printers, wireless routers, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, home automation hubs, surveillance systems, smart speakers, and Google's Pixel Watch and Chromecast devices, all in their default configuration and running the latest security updates.
While no team signed up to hack the Apple iPhone 14 and Google Pixel 7 smartphones, the contestants hacked a fully patched Samsung Galaxy S23 four times.
The security researchers have successfully demoed exploits targeting 58 zero-days in devices from multiple vendors, including Xiaomi, Western Digital, Synology, Canon, Lexmark, Sonos, TP-Link, QNAP, Wyze, Lexmark, and HP.
Conclusion
By now you know. Updating can be a simple but important task. It can be the difference between losing all your files (and money) or continuing zapping on stacker news. But if you have noticed something is that you update your software today just to update it again next week. Protecting yourself from all vulnerabilities is an endless cause. I'll leave some sources below in case you want to look around.