5 Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Your Personal and Financial Information

5 Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Your Personal and Financial Information

In today’s day and age with the growth of technology, more and more people are interacting with one another online. With this surge also comes the necessity to make sure we are being careful with our personal and financial information. Cybersecurity is crucial now more than ever and it’s not just for the tech savvy but for anyone and everyone who is using a computer.

Here are some tips to make sure you’re protecting yourself:

  • Diversify passwords: Have you had the same password combination of your birthday and your dog’s name for the past 10 years? It’s time to change that. Reusing the same password for everything puts you at extremely high risk of being hacked. It is crucial to make sure you have as many unique passwords as possible. If you don’t think you can remember all those passwords, use a password manager to help you keep track of them all!
  • Beware of hackers: Scams are commonly deployed through email and/or text messages so make sure that when you’re clicking through your inbox, you don’t click on any email or text whose email address and/or name you don’t recognize.
  • Keep your software updated: Those computer updates can be taxing when you’re waiting for them to load, but it is important to update your computer and your phone promptly to make sure you have the latest security running on all of your devices.
  • Be careful what you post on social media: With the ever-growing presence of social media in our lives, it is natural to want to share updates with our friends. Just make sure that when doing so, you don’t reveal sensitive information like your license number or your Social Security number. If you need a new SSN search for a “social security office near me“. Avoid using public Wi-Fi when you can: Sometimes we can’t help it, but try to use a secure connection whenever possible. If a private Wi-Fi network isn’t an option, try using a personal hotspot through your phone. It is a much more secure way to be online.

Everyone needs to be aware of just how crucial cybersecurity is in today’s environment. The biggest thing you can do for yourself is to be aware of the possibility and don’t count yourself out of the possible targets of being hacked. Keeping that “it can’t happen to me” mentality out of your head and preparing yourself for the possibility of being hacked is the best way to protect yourself.

Feature photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash.

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