(Newswire.net — June 27, 2020) — Nowadays, we have lots of criminals lurking around and looking for personal information to use for identity theft. Therefore, everyone needs to consider various ways that can help them protect keep their personal information away from the reach of different criminals.
Here are the things you can do to keep your personal information secure:
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Use strong and different passwords for your various online accounts
Since lots of activities are carried out online today, many of us have several online accounts. Of course, each online account requires an email or username as well as a password for you to access it. Nonetheless, a lot of people are fond of using similar login details for many accounts. The main problem with this is that if one online account is hacked successfully, the hackers can also access other online accounts that you operate. Therefore, you should use a strong and unique password for every online account that you own.
To make it easy for you to manage the various accounts and their passwords, look for a password manager that is particularly designed for this purpose.
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Be careful when using free Wi-Fi
If you walk into many stores and other public places, you can access free Wi-Fi that makes browsing easy for you. Since you don’t have to pay a dime for the Wi-Fi, you may want to download the latest episodes of your favorite TV shows or do other activities online. While this can be sweet and easy, the free Wi-Fi puts you at risk of being hacked. So, don’t carry out any activity that may enable hackers to access your bank account or any online account that you want to keep secure.
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Avoid sharing too much personal information on social media
Although social media channels are designed for us to share our lives with our friends, family, and other individuals, we need to avoid oversharing our personal information. You need to make sure that you don’t share your physical location on social media.
To do this, you should secure your IP location that criminals can use to find your IP address, time zone, and physical location. Turning off your location services is one of the best ways to keep your location secure and safe. However, some functions require turning on your location services. Once you are done with such functions, turn off the location immediately.
Also, don’t accept a friend or message request from individuals that you don’t know personally. Similarly, make sure that your profile is set at “Friends Only” or “Private”. It is also essential to avoid sharing sensitive information on social media platforms.
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Always lock up your computer
Do you have your financial details on your laptop? Is there any sensitive information on your computer? If yes, you must always ensure that your computer is locked with username and password. Locking up your computer ensures that only authorized individuals can access your information.
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Close or delete all unused online accounts
For various activities, many of us have opened lots of online accounts over the past years. However, we don’t operate most of these accounts again, although they are still open. Unfortunately, hackers can breach your accounts and have access to your information without you knowing at all. The email account you are using for such unused online accounts can serve as a gateway for hackers to have access to your personal information.
To secure your personal information, you should close or delete all unused online accounts. This reduces the personal information you have online and lowers the risk involved.
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Use multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication refers to an authentication system that requires you to go through extra security steps after entering your username and password correctly. In most cases, this authentication requires you to enter a code that has been sent to your predetermined contact info. The essence of this system is to keep your personal information and online accounts secure.
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Avoid clicking suspicious links
Many phishing scammers can send links to you and require you to click them. They may ask you to verify your account, resolve a problem with your account, make a payment, or claim a prize. After clicking such links, they will trick you into sharing personal details. It is difficult to identify these links, so you should be careful before clicking any links.
Other steps you can take to keep your personal information secure include protecting your social security number and encrypting your data. If you can follow these dos and don’ts, you will be able to keep your personal information secure.