Taking Care of Your Digital Self, Part 6: Cyber Security

Computers are a huge part of everyday lives and a personal information stored on them is a goldmine to identity thieves. Threats like ransomware (which literally holds a computer hostage until it’s paid) or WiFi hacking can cause serious damage to someone’s identity. Your technology is a gateway to your identity, and keeping them secure is more important than ever.

In 2016, individuals were attacked by ransomware every 10 seconds.

• Make sure anti-virus and malware software is installed and up-to-date.
• Back up data. One of the best ways to protect from the fallout of a ransomware attack is to backup data externally each day.
• Change the WiFi password once a month—this will keep hackers and neighbors off of the connection and out of your files.

Tools & Resources

• National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) has information and resources on how to stay safe online

Stay tuned for Part 7: Mobile Devices coming in June