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How many times do you share what you’re doing on and where you are on social media? A Facebook post at your son’s baseball game. A tweet about your recent trip camping at a state park. We live in a shareable world which can help keep us in the loop with our friends and family. And this has been especially important to us as we have had to physically distance from a lot of our close connections.
While it is great to keep those connections alive, we still need to be vigilant about our privacy as there are bad guys out there waiting for us to slip up and offer them our private information. Here a few ways you can make sure you are protecting your privacy.
Wifi Networks - When you are on a public wifi network, consider everything you are doing to be “visible”. Even though some information is encrypted, some data can still be seen if someone is watching your network activity. Solution? Use a VPN, or a Virtual Private Network that encrypts your traffic and moves it through trusted servers. Or use your mobile phone’s LTE connection, which is among the most secure connections in our country. Utilize a VPN or your LTE connection, over a free public wifi connection for online banking, shopping or anytime you don’t want your information “viewable” by others.
Your Device - Hackers want access to your device, so the two best tools to prevent this access are: biometric authentication (touch ID or Face ID) and a long passcode only you know. Don’t share passwords, period.
Security Questions - When using security questions for any account, try to utilize answers that are less likely to be found in public record searches such as a favorite flower or breakfast. Avoid answers like maiden names, pets, city you were born or first car. Also be careful what you share on social media regarding your “favorites” that could be answers to your security question such as a favorite movie or food.
Each time you put forth an effort to keep your information safe, it makes it harder to for hackers to get that information. Many of these are easy to implement and do not make our day-to-day activities any more difficult, but it does make it more difficult for those trying to steal your information. So, what are you waiting for? Take steps to secure your private information today!