8 Tips to Spring Into a Cleaner Workspace
#1. Review your online accounts.
Delete any accounts that you no longer use and remove information in any of your accounts that isn’t needed anymore! This includes saved credit cards or old documents in cloud storage.
#2. Update your logins & passwords.
Though this may seem like a simple task, it’s definitely one of top priority! Your login information and passwords are the key to so much of your personal information. A huge amount of personal and private information is stored online and potentially vulnerable to cyber threats.
Review your accounts to make sure you use strong and unique passwords and have the strictest authentication options. If you use passwords like 1234 or ABCD, it could be a cakewalk for a hacker to crack your system code. This is why you must use strong passwords composed of numerals, alphabets and characters. If your passwords are strong, it is a tough job for someone to crack it!
#3. Get rid of old digital files!
This is pretty simple. Clean out your old email, files and downloads you no longer need. Always empty the trash when you’re done. You can also unsubscribe from newsletters, email alerts and mailing lists you no longer read — this will help keep your emails to a minimum (and will also help keep hackers to a minimum!)
#4. Own your online presence.
Review all privacy and security settings on websites you use to ensure they’re at your comfort level for sharing. You do NOT need to share everything with everyone!
#5. Lock down your login.
Use a password, passcode, fingerprint or facial recognition to log into all of your devices. It’s important to enable the strongest authentication tools available to you. Turning on multi-factor authentication, also known as two-step verification or two-factor authentication, on critical accounts like email, banking and social media is also a great way to ensure a safer login.
#6. Back up your files.
This one is so crucial yet seems to slip everyone’s mind the most! Make a complete backup of important files, copy important data to a secure cloud site, another computer or external hard drive, where it can be safely stored. TIP: ALWAYS password protect backup drives.
Another tip? Be sure you can restore the files from your backup — a backup that you can’t use isn’t very helpful, now is it?
#7. Dispose of electronic devices securely.
If you’re looking to get rid of a device, you must be sure that it is CLEAN! Failed drives can still contain data and wiping them clean can fail as well! You should always shred or destroy the drive before getting rid of it. How do you shred or destroy the drive? To be “shredded,” a hard drive must be chipped into small pieces. Using a hammer to hit a drive only slows down a determined cybercriminal, it’s important to use a trusted shredding company to dispose of your old hard drives! Contact us for information about secure data or device disposal!
#8. Empty your trash!
Did you know that deleting and emptying the trash is not enough to completely get rid of a file? You will need to permanently delete old files using a program that deletes the data, “wipes” it from your device and overwrites it by putting random data in place of your information ‒ then you will be sure that your data is GONE!
Refreshing your online life is a relatively simple process. It will help you stay cyber safe and protect your personal data and identity all year round! Please don’t hesitate to contact us for help — it’s our priority to keep YOU cyber safe!
Need help with your digital clean up? Verity IT can get you on the right track!
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