Data breaches can be costly in terms of time and money. If someone else gets ahold of your personal information by gaining unauthorized access to one of your devices, you may have to deal with the repercussions for many years to come. Fortunately, there are ways that you can keep your devices and the data they contain more secure.
1. Clear Your Hard Drive
Gone are the days when a desktop computer, laptop, or phone could last a decade or more. Planned obsolescence means that you have to keep buying new devices every couple of years just to be able to do your job and communicate with others. When you get a new device, you should arrange for hard drive destruction Boston MA of the old one. Merely deleting files in insufficient, as a skilled hacker could recover them. You need to make sure the data is completely destroyed and inaccessible.
2. Use Strong Passwords
Not only do you need strong passwords for your laptop and other devices, you can’t use any automatic login software that stores them for you. Otherwise, if your device were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be a simple matter for a bad actor to access all your information. You should also be careful about the data you store on a laptop. Even a crafty hacker cannot steal what isn’t there.
3. Be Careful of Wi-Fi
There are different levels of security on Wi-Fi networks. A secure wireless network provides the most protection. However, many public wireless networks are not secure. Even if you use an encrypted website, only the information you send to and from that site is secure. Therefore, be careful about what you send over Wi-Fi in a public place.
As an extra layer of protection, you should also install protective software on all your devices, especially those that connect to public Wi-Fi. Examples include firewalls and anti-virus programs.