It’s easy to think about securing your home: closing and locking windows and doors, installing an alarm, putting up motion-activated floodlights. But what about protecting your data? Do you save passwords and credit card information in your browser or on your phone? Is your malware protection up to date?
As more and more of our transactions and interactions move online, it’s critical to take steps to ensure the security and privacy of your personal data. Monday, January 28 is Data Privacy Day. It’s the perfect day to take a moment and take action to protect yourself.
The more complicated your passwords are, the harder it is for your security to be breached. And always choose multifactor authentication when it is offered, which requires two (or more) means of identification.
For your phone, for your computer — even when they wake up from sleep mode, you should require a login.
There are many choices that you can download instantly, in a wide selection of price ranges. Be sure to go with a well-known, proven company.
Get an external hard drive and back up important and sensitive data. You can get hard drives that measure their storage capacities in terabytes, in assorted sizes and styles to suit your personal taste.
NOTE: You can back up files to the cloud, which is generally a very secure option, but it still is possible to breach cloud security, so a local hard drive might be a safer bet.
Once a security method known only to hardcore computer nerds aficionados, encryption software is now available for everyone. Encryption basically scrambles your data, rendering it unreadable to anyone without a password.
Credit card companies not only have your name and address, but also your social security number, birthday, and credit and purchase histories. The safest way to buy? Use cash.
There are many steps you can take to help ensure your personal information is safe, even as you shop, chat, and surf online. Learn more about Data Privacy Day by visiting StaySafeOnline.org.
