How to Protect Your Information Online
The internet is becoming a more important part of most Americans lives on a daily basis. Not only are we enamored in banking institutions online, but usually, almost our entire lives can be found online. It’s important to note that this is something that most people can and do concentrate on when it comes their daily lives and their interactions with other people. Something that most people don’t realize is that most of the time, our sensitive data is up for grabs to many hackers around the web, especially if you don’t practice daily internet security. If you want to make sure that your information stays safe, you should follow these tips for better online security.
photo/ Gerd Altmann via pixabay
The first thing you should when you’re looking to up your internet security is to make sure that none of your data has already been breached. Something that a ton of people don’t know is that it is actually quite likely that one of their old accounts has already been hacked and the data leaked to potential hackers on the internet. There is current research online that has data dumps of this information, and there are free websites out there that will tell you if one of your old accounts has been hacked by simply putting in your email address and nothing more. If you found out that one of your accounts was a part of these data breaches, you should change your password for that account, and every single account that has the same address or a similar one, or any other account that uses the same password.
The next thing you should do if you want to up your internet security is to get familiar with phishing emails. Although most people know what it’s like to be phished and what to look for in the obvious emails, some emails aren’t so obvious and being phished in something that many people go through to get their data hacked. Make sure that if you are brought to page to put in your password, make sure that it’s the right address on the top of the page. If you have any doubts, or something seems fishy at all, reload a completely new page and try again. It’s much easier to open up a new page than it is to get your identity back after it has been stolen.
Lastly, and one of the most important things you can do for your safety online, is to get a password manager. A password manager is an app or a program on your computer that constantly changes and updates your passwords without you having to do much at all. It increases the strength of your passwords to a maximum degree and changes them often. If you’re someone who travels a lot, this can be a huge help because your passwords with your personal information for places like Hotwire, will be kept safely, and you’ll continue to save money on flights.
Author: Justin Weinger
