Ways To Protect Your Information Online

With social media channels like Facebook and Twitter remaining as popular as ever, cyber criminals are able to access a user's information such as location, date of birth and family connections, which they then use to hack into their other accounts, such as banking and online storage. These simple steps will protect your valuable personal information online:

Passwords:

Cardinal rule of selecting a password is: if they're easy to remember, they're easy to crack. Use symbols and a combination of upper and lower case numbers when possible. Never share your password with anyone and change them atleast once a year.  You can also use a password manager like LastPass that will not only remember all your passwords but will generate super strong and unique ones and automatically fill them into login fields.

Look for Encryption:

Before making any sort of financial transaction online, just look for two things: the trusted security lock symbols and the extra "s" at the end of HTTP in the URL or web address bar. Wait till the "HTTP" changes to "https"; it is a secure site. At the same time, a lock symbol will also appear on the right side of the address bar or at the bottom left of your browser window. These two signals show that the site is encrypted.

Exclude Sensitive Data from Social Media:

The more information you share online, the easier it’s going to be for someone to get their hands on it. Don’t fill out your social media profile. Check your social media privacy settings. Change all Facebook settings to "Only me" or “Friends Only” for all posts for a more secure profile.

Security Suites:

Security suites are security programs that prevent hackers and programs from infecting your computer and gathering your personal information. This includes blocking harmful software such as spyware, viruses, and phishing scams that can be installed secretly when you are online. Some of the popular security suites include Norton Antivirus, McAfee Virus Protection, etc.

Password-Protect Your Wireless Router:

When you do not have a password on your wireless network, a hacker can easily steal information from your computer while accessing your router. You should also enable the encryption feature on the wireless router which scrambles any data you send online to further protect your sensitive data.

Protect your Credit Card Info:

Be wary of making credit card payments online. If it's an option, use one credit card for online purchases only and make it a credit card (not a debit) card that connects to your bank account. If a debit card is used and a hacker gets your information, they could gain access to your bank account as well.