As we get into 2018 many of us are starting to think about how to approach the year, setting ourselves goals and resolutions. From running a marathon or losing weight, to saving money and putting a deposit down on a house, everyone’s thinking about how they can make changes to better their lives. While it’s great to have lofty goals to aim for, it’s also good to think about the smaller modifications that can improve day to day life without a whole lot of effort, writes Steve Schult, senior director product management, LastPass, a passwords management product company.
Take cyber security for example. Even the biggest technophobes can up their game with some reasonable resolutions that will make things like using a credit card, or shopping online, safer and more secure. For the more tech-savvy, there are still enhancements that can be made that don’t require a complete overhaul of your computer systems or phones. So, here are seven new year’s cyber security resolutions that everyone can get behind:
Be security aware
Being security-aware means that you understand that there are people out there who will deliberately (or even by accident) steal, or misuse your personal information. Understanding this is the first step. Next comes education and diligence around cyber security. An easy step to take is signing up for text and email alerts to get informed about important activity on your bank and credit card accounts. If you misplace your wallet, you can easily shut off your cards on your accounts’ apps, and it can also help you monitor your spending, ticking off two new year’s resolutions with a click of a button.
Only visit secure, trustworthy websites
You don’t need to be a security expert to know if you are on a safe, legitimate website. Simply check the URL to confirm there’s an “s” after “http” at the beginning (like this post’s URL). If you didn’t know, the “s” stands for secure, so it’s a sure fire way of guaranteeing you haven’t accidentally clicked on to a malicious website. And if you think it’s difficult to access an insecure website, think again. When you’re at your local Starbucks’ or any airport’s Wi-Fi network you aren’t on a secure connection, so you should avoid sharing any sensitive data until you get back home.
Password
When it comes to passwords, it’s important to treat them with respect. They’re not only the gateway to your accounts, but often they’re the entry point to sensitive information which you wouldn’t want in the wrong hands. To ensure your passwords aren’t defenceless against cyber-criminals, make sure they’re not simple and easy to guess, or over-exposed through reuse on multiple websites. Break the cycle with a simple password management tool that will generate strong and unique passwords for every account, change them as often as you like, and keep them locked up tight.
Keep your devices and applications updated
When Apple, Microsoft or Google strongly encourage you to apply the latest mobile or laptop operating system update because of a security vulnerability, they aren’t kidding around. Update it. Or, most devices will allow you to set your updates to happen while you’re asleep, so they won’t interfere with your day to day activity. The inconvenience of managing your software updates is significantly dwarfed by the ever so inconvenient identity theft. Check the settings on your laptops, tablets and smartphones to manage automatic updates to apps, software and operating systems. Don’t forget your browsers while you’re at it. They’re a gateway to everything important on your machine. Something the folks at Equifax learned the hard way. Last year they neglected to patch a known vulnerability which led to a massive breach of personal data belonging to 146 million people.
Stay motivated
As with any goal you set yourself, it’s important to be realistic. They should be attainable, not out of reach. Give yourself a reasonable timeline to meet your resolutions, and celebrate milestones along the way.
