Be Smart About Privacy
We have just seen the conclusion of Privacy Awareness Week. We are still seeing many customers come to the store with personal information that is very unsafe and unprotected. Our experience with customers shows that the two most at-risk age groups are under 20’s and over 60’s.
With technology advancing at a rapid pace many younger groups are simply not as afraid of the tech so they do not feel the need to protect their identities online, and many older Australians are not as vigilant because they are not used to being so connected and having so much information easily accessible.
Privacy Awareness Week is all about looking after ourselves and also those around us who might be less tech-savvy, like children and seniors. Being constantly connected to the internet through mobiles, TVs, home-assist devices and security systems increases the amount of data, or personal information, that’s collected about us is expanding.
Here are my top tips to protect your personal information online:
Secure your personal information - Have personal information particularly passwords stored in a secure password vault and avoid storing lots of personal information on free cloud drives such as iCloud and Google Drive.
Think twice before sharing details - Avoid sharing personal details like dates of birth, maiden names, and financial details like who bank with. For example, we have all seen a social media rant about a specific bank. Check your privacy settings on social media platforms. If you need to share credit card details avoid doing so by message, or send them as a picture message or even better via Snapchat never as text.
Setup Multi-factor authentication – This means that your password is not the only way you check it is you. This also helps if you lose your password.
Read Ts&Cs when signing up to apps and emails – We know you won’t, but technically you should.
Use a secure WiFi network – Especially if you are working from home, avoid free WiFi. As things open avoid cafes that have free WiFI with one password for all guests is also bad news.
Set up a Pin or Password on your laptop and phone – It can be a pain, but without a pin or password, your device can reveal many secrets. People often admit stuff to Google they wouldn’t even admit to their own spouse.
Check to see how many times your privacy has been compromised – Type in your email address to https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and it will show you how many times your personal data has been breached.
If you need help with any of this me or my team at King IT can help by conducting a privacy audit, setting up a password vault, or providing lessons on how to stay safe and secure.