- Protect your social security number. Don’t carry your social security card in your wallet or purse. If your social security number is listed on your driver’s license, health insurance card, checkbook, etc. request to have it reissued.
- Use different passwords on different sites. Setting a unique password is important. Most people choose their passwords from a very small list of common passwords. In fact, sampling suggests that 91% of all user passwords appear in the list of the top 1,000 most common passwords.
- Never click on a link you did not expect to receive. The golden rule. The main way criminals infect PCs with malware is by luring users to click on a link or open an attachment.
- If in doubt, block. Just say no to social media invitations (such as Facebook-friend or LinkedIn connection requests) from people you don't know. It's the cyber equivalent of inviting the twitchy guy who looks at you at the bus stop into your home.
- Enable two-step verification. If your
email or cloud service offers it – Gmail, Dropbox, Apple and Facebook do – take the trouble to set this up. In addition to entering your password, you are also asked to enter a verification code sent via SMS to your phone. In the case of Gmail you only have to enter a fresh code every 30 days or when you log on from a different computer or device. So a hacker might crack your password, but without the unique and temporary verification code should not be able to access your account.
- Use firewall, virus, and spyware protection. Update it regularly to keep your computer safe from “uninvited guests”.
Thank you,
Wenona Mertens
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