By Attorney Susan I. Jean on November 30, 2018
This morning I heard of the apparent breach of the Marriott data system. Possibly over 500 million folks’ data is at risk. I don’t want this to happen to The Heritage Law Group friends and families. I’m not a computer person, but I went through a couple of websites and here are a couple of hints from some websites that you can review to see if you are being as safe as you can be online. Hope this helps!
- Device location: Turn off the device location of your smartphone and personal computer. This prevents apps from accessing your device location.
- Facebook location: Facebook, like many other apps, keeps a track of your location and your location history. They do this so that they can configure the content and ads for your interest. You can turn off this feature and prevent the social media platform from tracking your whereabouts by going to the location settings of your Facebook app and turning off Location, Nearby Friends, and Location History options. Bonus: It also keeps your stalker from knowing your location!
- App permission: On your smartphone, check the permissions, such as access to contacts, microphone, camera, etc. — that individual apps are asking for and revoke the accesses that you think specific apps don’t need. You never know which app might be snooping on you!
- Facebook app access: Many of us use our Facebook IDs to log into new services. However, sometimes long after we have stopped using these apps, they still have the required permission to access our data. You can go your Facebook settings to revoke access of all the apps that you no longer use.
- Public Wi-Fi: As a rule, do not connect with public Wi-Fi system. They not only leave your devices vulnerable to viruses and Trojans, but they are also susceptible to be hacked easily.
- Password: A good password is one of the earliest defenses against any hack. Use a strong password, preferably that is long and is a combination of alphanumeric codes and special characters. Yes, I know that they are tough to remember, but that also means they are tough to guess.
- Card details: Many of us do much of our shopping online. It is easy to create an account and have the site save your credit card information. However, doing so can leave your card details vulnerable to be stolen.
- Accessing right websites: One of the easiest ways to ensure that you are safe online is by accessing the websites that have gotten a security clearance by your web browser. Chrome, on its part, has color coded the matters. Https with a lock in green indicates that the website is safe to use. Anything in red is not safe.
- Added security: Another way you can ensure that your data and your apps are safe by enabling the two-factor authentication feature. Gmail has it, Facebook has and so does Instagram. Adding a layer of protection over your password ensures that even if someone guesses your password they still need your phone to enter into your email or social media account.
- Talk to no one: A golden rule to keep your digital lives safe is taking all your passwords and online banking credentials to your grave (just kidding!). The point is not to share your passwords and banking details with anyone, especially not with strangers.