Shopping Online

When shopping online, always use your credit cards instead of a debit card. If any fraud happens, it is far easier to recover your money from a credit card transaction. Gift cards and one-time-use credit card numbers are even more secure.

Shopping Online

When shopping online, always use your credit cards instead of a debit card. If any fraud happens, it is far easier to recover your money from a credit card transaction. Gift cards and one-time-use credit card numbers are even more secure.

Mobile Apps

Only install mobile apps from trusted places, and always double-check the privacy settings to ensure you are not giving away too much information.

Browse With Encryption

When browsing online, encrypting your online activities is one of the best ways to protect yourself. Make sure your online connection is encrypted by making sure HTTPS is in the website address and that there is a green lock next to it.

Bluetooth

Turn off Bluetooth if you are not using it on your computer or device. Not only does this make it more secure, but it also saves battery life.

Paper Documents Also Have to Be Protected

Keep in mind that digital data is not the only thing that needs to be protected. Paper documents also need to be protected. When disposing of any confidential documents, make sure they are shredded first or disposed of in bins for shredding. Also, be sure to lock up any sensitive documents before yo...

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Unique Passwords

Make sure each of your accounts has a separate, unique password. Can't remember all of your passwords/passphrases? Consider using a password manager to securely store all of them for you.

Back up Your Files

Eventually, we all have an accident or get hacked. And when we do, backups are often the only way to recover. Backups are cheap and easy; make sure you are backing up all of your personal information (such as family photos) on a regular basis.

Email Auto-Complete

Be careful with email auto-complete. This is an email feature that automatically completes a name for you when you begin typing it in the TO field. However, your email client can easily complete the wrong name for you. If you are emailing anything sensitive, always be sure to check the TO field a se...

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Go With Passphrases

Passphrases are the strongest type of passwords and the easiest to remember. Simply use an entire sentence for your password, such as "What time is coffee?" By using spaces and punctuation, you create a long password that is hard to guess but easy to remember.

Social Media Postings

Be careful: the more information you post online about yourself, the easier it is for a cyber attacker to target you and create custom attacks against you or your organization.

Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Router

The most effective steps you can take to secure your wireless network at home is to change the default admin password, enable WPA2 encryption and use a strong password for your wireless network.

Anti-Virus

Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your computer and that it is automatically updating. However, keep in mind that no anti-virus can catch all malware; your computer can still be infected. That is why it's so important you use common sense and be wary of any messages that seem odd o...

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Kids and Screenshots

If you have kids with mobile devices, create a central home charging station in a place like your bedroom. Before the kids go to bed at night, have them put their mobile devices there so they are not tempted to play with them when they should be sleeping.

Don't Trust Links Sent in Email Messages

A common method cyber criminals use to hack into people's computers is to send them emails with malicious links. People are tricked into opening these links because they appear to come from someone or something they know and trust. If you click on a link, you may be taken to a site that attempts to ...

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Don't Login on Untrusted Computers

A password is only as secure as the computer or network it is used on. As such, never log in to a sensitive account from a public computer, such as computers in a cyber cafe, hotel lobby or conference hall. Bad guys target public computers such as these and infect them on purpose. The moment you typ...

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You Are a Target

You may not realize it, but you are a target. Your computer, your work and personal accounts and your information are all highly valuable to cyber criminals. Be mindful that bad guys are out to get you.

Reporting an Incident

Eventually, we all get hacked. The bad guys are very persistent and we can all make a mistake. If a phone call from the "Help Desk" doesn't sound quite right, if an email seems suspicious or if a program you installed starts acting funny, ask for help! Your security team is there to help you. The so...

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