Five things to help keep your data safe

1. POWER YOUR PASSWORDS

Create unique and strong passwords – Use upper case, lower case, special characters and numbers in your passwords, but do not use your personal information.

Always change your passwords regularly, but only do so if you are changing to another strong password that you can remember!

Use a password tool to remember all your passwords.  I have personally used Roboform for the last 12 years. I have found it to be the best and most cost-effective, as just one RoboForm Everywhere account lets you add it to all your devices, so all see the same passwords instantly using the one account. You only need to remember the one MASTER password and RoboForm will remember the rest, a brilliant app.

2. ALWAYS BACKUP

Back up all your files by copying your files over to a protected system or device that you can access. Use a cloud service or your own drives.

If you’re choosing a hard drive, look for one with full disk encryption, which helps protect your data from unauthorised access or theft.

Hard drives with 256-bit AES are considered to be one of the top ciphers, meaning it is one of the most secure encryption methods.  AES = (Advanced Encryption Standard)

3. SURF SAFELY

When making payments online it is crucial that you only use SSL secure sites. On all payment pages look out for “https” at the start – the ‘S’ indicates that it’safe & SECURE, that means you are sending your payment details through a secure and encrypted connection.

Also be aware of phishing, you should always check that the email is from the sender you believe it is from and do not click any links from unknown senders.

Encrypt your networks wireless connection and/or use a VPN, so that no one can “piggyback” onto your Wi-Fi network, that would allow hackers access to your information, they could commit a crime, they could even send spam emails that could be traced back to you and your network.

4. THE PEN & FLASH DRIVE

Protect yourself against Brute-force attacks by using encrypted drives or pen drives. moreover drives with fingerprint readers on are still a relatively modern technology but are a great way of helping protect your original files.

5. DON’T FORGET ALWAYS SHRED IT

Shred all unrequired statements, letters and any documents that hold your personal information before disposing of them in your bin or at the reclamation centers. It is almost impossible to completely prevent ALL identity theft, but by taking certain precautions, like shredding can massively reduce the risk of you being targeted by hackers.