Start the new year with good internet safety habits. Take a look at the top six rules to protect your privacy and secure your account from hackers:
- Keep your privacy settings on: most social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow users to set their privacy levels. Make sure your settings are as strong as possible.
- Choose strong passwords: Use letters, numbers and symbols and mix them up e.g. Str0ngP@ss1! and make sure you don’t reuse the same password over different sites.
- Be careful when you are browsing: be cautious when shopping online or visiting websites for online banking or other sensitive transactions - always make sure that the site is legitimate by checking that the hyperlink is what you would expect. Use secure payment sites such as PayPal to protect your credit/debit card information and your identity.
- Back up your data: data loss can happen to anyone at any time for a number of reasons. A computer failure or infection with malware could result in data becoming inaccessible. Back up your data on your H & P drives, on cloud based services or on external devices.
- Keep your software up to date: make sure you stay current with your operating system's updates and updates to applications you use. Updates often include antivirus protection and provide a vital layer of security.
- Look out for the latest scams: check www.actionfraud.police.uk for details of current attacks.
More information
We've also put together more in-depth advice on how you can stay safe online, which includes how to protect your devices and personal information, managing passwords and reporting problems.
If you'd like to talk to someone about any online safety issues you can call the IT Service Desk on 01202 965515, option 1.
