In 2014, a Gallup poll revealed that 69% of Americans worry about the prospect of having their credit card information hacked into and stolen. This topped the charts of what crimes Americans are most worried about. Number two? Having their computer hacked, at a close 62%. These fears are reasonable: the amount of data that we willingly put on the Internet grows exponentially each year, and with it, the threat of information breaches. How can we keep ourselves safe from online threats? The answer is an idea known as “digital hygiene.”
You might be thinking, how can I practice good digital hygiene? Do I need to brush my keyboard before I go to bed every night? How about rinsing the USB drive out with a bit of mouth-wash? First off, as a computer science minor, I highly disapprove of either of these behaviors. “Digital hygiene” is a fairly new concept, and involves the practices and precautions we can take to keep our data organized, safe, and secure. Approximately one in three Americans every year will be victim to a cyber crime — that’s about one attack every 39 seconds! According to Willis Towers Watson, a London-based consultancy firm, a baffling 90% of cyber attacks are entirely preventable. That means that the victim has failed to take even the most basic measures against a potential threat. My goal for this article is to keep you out of that 90% of computer users who are adrift in the sea of the Internet. Follow these easy tips to sail smoothly in cyberspace.
The first place we can start are your passwords. A strong password is absolutely critical to keeping your online accounts secure, whether it be for Instagram or Bank of America. First, don’t use the same password for all of your accounts. Even though it might be easy, if one of your online profiles gets compromised, then the rest of the dominoes can fall quickly. Next, you are going to want a strong password. A well-built password is long — at least twelve characters is usually recommended. It also helps to include random, hard-to-guess words. Avoid your name or your birth year, as someone with malicious intent could do some basic research and easily crack your code. Instead of “Sparky16” or “SimonB1965”, try passwords like “45TromboneCasinoCat”. This password is long, totally randomized, and easy to remember. Finally, change your passwords regularly. This will lower the chances of them being compromised.
Next are some more ways to decrease the number of weak spots in your digital hygiene. Scammers often collect personal data using fake emails or texts through a process known as “phishing.” We’ve all gotten the classic request from a Nigerian prince to transfer 600 dollars into a bank account, but they can be much more realistic. Phishers can send emails that are identical to the ones you would get from your bank, school, credit card company, or social networking website. How can you recognize and deal with these nuisances? Don’t ever click on a link from a site that you don’t have an account with. If you get a message from a familiar source, take a few seconds to think back on your activity with the site, and if it has actually warranted a message from them.
I know software updates are annoying, but they are there for a reason. Most times apps or pieces of software are being patched up to get rid of bugs or vulnerabilities. Also, delete any apps that are just sitting on your phone/computer. There is no reason to keep potential sources of harm on your device if you are not going to use them. Lastly, back up your data relatively frequently. It has become increasingly commonplace for tech companies to remind you to back up your phone or computer to a cloud-based server, like the iCloud for Apple users. A second, physical backup such as on an external hard drive or flash drive would also be wise. This is a great way to store your information and account for issues like a crash or physical destruction to your device.
The World Wide Web can be rife with threats for those unknowing enough to keep themselves safe, or lazy enough to make their password, “password.” Hopefully, this article has given you a proverbial boogie-board to safely surf the web. Kowabunga! •
