Take Your Online Protection into Your Own Hands with These Top Tips

Our data is crucial. It is not only incredibly horrible to lose great memories, it can be incredibly costly as well. This is what happens when you are unprotected online. Gone are the days where there is no critical information about ourselves on the internet. Today, the internet knows more about us than anyone else. Providers like Google know our search habits, they know our details, and they know our passwords. That is why you need to take extra precautions with all of your data online. While a company like Google uses your data to provide you better service, hackers can access this information through many different avenues. These hackers can then target you with malware, ransomware, or can even access your banking accounts.

1. Delete Old Accounts

Old accounts hold old information, yes, but this very same information could be used to reset your password, or to otherwise commit identity theft. Even old and outdated information is valuable, after all, which is why it’s important to delete your old accounts right now. As a bonus, doing this will also clean up your online presence, meaning that prospective employers won’t be able to dig through your personal musings from when you were fifteen. For some, their names are so common it will be hard for your employers to know for certain which is you and which isn’t. For some, their unique names mean their online presence is obvious.

2. Update Your Passwords

Companies get hacked. Myspace, one of the biggest media giants back in the day, has been hacked. Even old information is valuable, but what is even more valuable are passwords. Many people will use the same password for everything, which means that even if an insignificant account gets hacked, your main accounts and even potentially your banking accounts are at risk. Luckily many companies are now using 2fa or two factor authentication which definitely helps.

3. Turn on Two-Factor Authentication

Many companies from Google, to Facebook, to even your banks now offer two-step verification for increased security. This means that even if someone does get a hold of your password, they wouldn’t be able to log in. You will also be notified of this breach, and be prompted to change your password immediately.

4. Learn Malware Scams

All the protections available cannot help you if you circumvent them and agree to download a corrupted file. Malware and ransomware scams are very dangerous, and can cause you to lose your data in bulk. If you don’t protect yourself online with software like Zonealarm Anti-ransomware, you could be opening yourself up to virus and ransomware attacks, financial or personal fraud, and even blackmail. Even finding out that your data is corrupted can be devastating, and while you can use this great data recovery software Windows to recover your data if the worst happens, it is always better to be preemptive.

5. Keep Your Systems Updated

Updated software is new, and as such, it means that hackers and software cannot hack into it until they create a new code. Regular updates protect yourself, and keep your systems working smoothly. You could also use a VPN to keep you safe online, 31 percent use a VPN to browse anonymously, so it’s fairly popular.