Optimizing Online Security For Business And Personal Information
Though the internet has changed peoples’ lives in many ways, it also has a dark side. If you lose your privacy, you will be at the mercy of agencies of security, companies, and shady individuals. Guard all the relevant information in your business against the hands of fraudsters. Protect the information that is personal to you from people who can steal your identity. Below are ways in which you can optimize your business’ online security and your personal information.
Table of Contents
Alertness
You should be aware of the persons before you dispense your information. Ensure that your personal information is disposed of and stored securely. Besides, you ought to be mindful of impersonators.
You should know all those who seek to have your financial or personal information. Ensure that you only share your personal information over emails, social media, or over the phone after you have contacted the person or personally know the individual. Have a network firewall to protect your devices.
If you do not have an account with a business that claims to have your account and requests for your personal information, do not give away your information through the link that they have sent in your email. Instead, search the name of the company in a site browser to verify the information. Additionally, contact their customer service or initiate a call to the number of their customer service that is on their website and inquire if they made the request.
Disposal
Ensure that you securely dispose of your personal information. Rid all the personal data, which is stored in a computer before you dispose of the machine. Conduct research using the manual of the owner, the manufacturer of the device’s website, or the site of the provider of the service before you rid yourself of a mobile phone to know how you can permanently delete all its information. Also, you can learn how you can transfer its data to another device.
Erase the memory, sent messages, folders, photos, call logs and voicemails. Besides, remove your mobile’s subscriber identity module card if you are going to dispose of the mobile.
Data Encryption
Employ the use of a robust password on your bank, credit, laptop, or any person or business account as a security feature to safeguard the information that they contain. Be very creative in the passwords that you set to avoid others from guessing. Use phrases that are special and pick a letter from the phrase’s first word. Additionally, you can include the substitution of numerals and messages in the words that you have chosen to create a compelling and unpredictable password.
Avoid Oversharing
On Social Networking sites, do not overshare your personal or business’ information. Posting a lot of things about yourself and your business may give room to impersonators to use the information against you and the industry. They may use the information to get access to your personal information and money.
Let only a small number of people access your page. Avoid posting your full names on social media or over the internet. Do not post your address, numbers of your accounts, and phone numbers on websites that can be accessed publicly.
Keep Your Social Security Number Safe
Guard your SSN, and before you decide to share it, question why they need it. If possible, use another method of identification. Know why your SSN is required, how they will use it, ways in which they will protect it, and the consequences of deciding not to share the SSN.
You are the one to determine if you want to share your SSN, though some businesses will not provide some services that you seek without SSN provision. Additionally, the institutions of finances and your employer need your SSN. Some companies may request an SSN for a loan, utility services, apartment renting, or even for your credit card.
Secure Your Devices
To protect the business’ and personal information, install software that deals with viruses, firewalls, and anti-spyware software. Ensure that you periodically and timely update the software that you have connected to ensure that there is no infiltration of the business’ and personal information.
Suspicious Emails
Do not follow links, download the programs, or open the files that you have received from people that you do not know. When you open the files and download the application, you endanger the business’ and your computer or device to spyware or a virus that will mine all your passwords and vital pieces of information.
Wi-Fi
Be sure that the information that you want to share in your device or laptop over a public network that is wireless while in a library, hotel, airport, coffee shop, or any other public place passes through a secure open connection. Use a website that is encrypted to ensure that the business’ and personal information that you are sending is reliable. Ensure that you use a wireless network that is secure to guarantee the protection of all your data.
Secure Laptop
Ensure that when you decide to store the business’ financial information on your laptop, only when it is unavoidable. Avoid the use of a security feature that allows the user to access the computer automatically. Log off from the computer when through and set a complex password, in case of theft, the information will be hard to access. Secure your devices to avoid the leaking and stealing of the business’ and personal information.
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