With each passing day, consumers are presented with increasing dangers to privacy, finances, and identity. It is up to each one of us to practice due diligence to ensure that we protect sensitive information and keep it out of the hands of would be thieves. The following tips, while not all-inclusive, will help you make sure that your information stays secure.
1) Secure your Wi-Fi. This is an open door into your home or office network, and even into your computer. Ensure that it has a secure password consisting of upper & lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Many wireless routers offer a password generator built into the unit. Use it if it is available.
2) Choose secure passwords. As mentioned above, always use a mixture of upper and lower case letters and numbers. Not all sites or resources allow the use of symbols, but use those where you can. There are freeware password generator and management tools out there such as KeePass to assist with this daunting task.
3) Never use the same password on more than one site. Although it can be tempting to be lulled into thinking that your password is safe, once it is compromised then every site that you use that password on is also compromised. Be safe, use a different password wherever you go!
4) Don't use your browser's auto-fill feature for storing sensitive information. As convenient as auto-fill is for quickly filling out annoying web forms, that data can be compromised if your network is breached. Keep that information off-line!
5) Be careful where you submit financial information. Just because a site has an SSL certificate and a merchant account, that does not make it a reputable merchant. There are online stores that use customer financial information for illegal purposes. Stick with reputable merchants that have an established reputation. Cheaper isn't always better if it costs you everything to save a dollar.
6) Keep yourself protected. Run anti-virus software and a firewall at all times. If you use Firefox or Chrome, use NoScript. Consider an application such as Ad-Aware to protect you from adware/spyware that can drop tracking cookies and other malicious files on your computer which anti-virus products may overlook.
7) If you're on a public terminal (or your own smart device in a public area) about to enter personal information, be aware of your surroundings. Shoulder surfing is back en vogue for hijacking sensitive data with the advent of iPads and smart phones.
Disclaimer: This is a repost of this thread, which I also wrote.
1) Secure your Wi-Fi. This is an open door into your home or office network, and even into your computer. Ensure that it has a secure password consisting of upper & lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Many wireless routers offer a password generator built into the unit. Use it if it is available.
2) Choose secure passwords. As mentioned above, always use a mixture of upper and lower case letters and numbers. Not all sites or resources allow the use of symbols, but use those where you can. There are freeware password generator and management tools out there such as KeePass to assist with this daunting task.
3) Never use the same password on more than one site. Although it can be tempting to be lulled into thinking that your password is safe, once it is compromised then every site that you use that password on is also compromised. Be safe, use a different password wherever you go!
4) Don't use your browser's auto-fill feature for storing sensitive information. As convenient as auto-fill is for quickly filling out annoying web forms, that data can be compromised if your network is breached. Keep that information off-line!
5) Be careful where you submit financial information. Just because a site has an SSL certificate and a merchant account, that does not make it a reputable merchant. There are online stores that use customer financial information for illegal purposes. Stick with reputable merchants that have an established reputation. Cheaper isn't always better if it costs you everything to save a dollar.
6) Keep yourself protected. Run anti-virus software and a firewall at all times. If you use Firefox or Chrome, use NoScript. Consider an application such as Ad-Aware to protect you from adware/spyware that can drop tracking cookies and other malicious files on your computer which anti-virus products may overlook.
7) If you're on a public terminal (or your own smart device in a public area) about to enter personal information, be aware of your surroundings. Shoulder surfing is back en vogue for hijacking sensitive data with the advent of iPads and smart phones.
Disclaimer: This is a repost of this thread, which I also wrote.
