Have you used eBay, Yahoo or Uber within the last few years? If the answer is yes, chances that your data was stolen or hacked in some way are quite high according to the recent research. Check out the simple rules you need to obey to avoid data breach most of the times:
1) Get the new accounts passwords in case they are hacked
In case you use the same password not just once (what is not advised for your safety), change it for a unique one. In reality, it’s probably a wise plan to alter your sensitive passwords from time to time and to make sure they aren’t too simple to work out. In the event you will find building a lot of distinct passwords a hard job for you, you are able to install a password control software practically at a low cost or completely for free. Those tools mostly store the passwords away from your browser in a safer place.
2) Check your financial data for unauthorized access
Most of the cases of identity theft do not involve getting a new credit on your name, instead, thieves use your bank or credit card details to withdraw money from your account. In case you notice some unknown activity, immediately contact your bank and make them cancel all freshly requested cards and accounts and get a new one instead. Make sure you are the only person who could set up any automated payments and go for two-factor authentification so breachers would have hard times accessing your account, or have a separate card for that kind of payments instead.
3) Take action to safeguard your own information
Perhaps not many data access crimes happen as a consequence of somebody else’s security violation. There are tons of ways your data might be stolen and luckily you may prevent that quite easy.
Trash all the documents which contain sensitive details. Be mindful of providing sensitive information on the telephone or clicking on links from emails and always type the name of the company’s website with your own hands. Look at the option of carrying non-RFID cards or protect yours with additional ways of protection. Utilize malware and virus applications and avoid broadcasting personal data via unprotected and public Wi-Fi networks.
4) Opt-out of major data-collecting sites
If you ever typed in your personal name into Google search you probably were surprised on how much of the private information may be revealed about you in a few clicks. Most of it is collected by so-called data-broker websites that gain information about a person in various places and create an online profile which might be horribly right. For example, Nuwber allows you to remove information containing in its database in just a few clicks. There are tools like Onerep that help you wipe yourself off from about 90 websites and have instructions to manually remove yourself from more than 300 of them.
Regrettably there are no 100 per cent -fool-proof methods to guard your information even in the event that you attempt to reside completely from the Internet. But, taking these steps will minimize most of the threats. As they say, it’s usually far better to be safe than sorry!
