In today’s post, we want to cover some security basics that our clients ignore or don’t know about. Following these steps will help keep you protected online.

Not Keeping Your Device Updated

Many people don’t like updating their devices because updates can cause problems or change the way we interact with the device. What most people overlook is that most updates contain security patches. These updates patch over vulnerabilities in the operating system that hackers exploit. Follow the steps below to check if your device needs updating:

Sharing Too Much Information

Facebook is a great way to keep friends and family up to date on what’s going on in your life. Facebook and other social media sites are the perfect stalking grounds for hackers, thieves, and other threats. For example, posting that you are on vacation and how long you will be gone is an announcement to the world that your home will be empty. Additionally, many apps, games, and other services encourage you to link them with your social media. By allowing it, you are opening up your data to companies with less than stellar security records.

Check The Information

Further, if you receive an email or call from someone claiming to be from a government organization or other entity, make sure they are who they say they are. Phishing and spam emails are becoming more and more convincing—double check all links, phone numbers, and other information in these emails. These emails are typically crafted by non-English speakers. Consequently, most spam emails will contain spelling or grammatical errors.

Passwords

One of the most common things we recommend to our clients is to have multiple passwords for their online accounts. Using the same password for multiple online accounts is a major security risk. All a hacker needs to do is break into one account; they will be able to break into all of your accounts. Once they have access, they can cause all sorts of damage. For instance, they could spam your email or social media contacts, to transferring money from your bank account.

Plan B

Lastly, back up everything. Your computer, phone, tablet. Any device that has personal information, pictures, or other important information to you needs to have a backup. Ideally, you will want to back up to the cloud; that way, your data isn’t on a single device that could be lost, stolen, or damaged. Another benefit to the cloud is the information is available on any device with an internet connection.

If you found this article interesting or helpful, check out our other posts!