“Don’t be scared if you don’t do things in the right order. I didn’t think I’d have dessert
before breakfast today, but hey, it turned out that way and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
—Mindy Kaling, comedian
Welcome to National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – also known as October!
I am certain you are sick of being told to use unique passwords and a password manager to protect your online presence. However, it is the number one tool for protecting your data and identity. And it’s FREE! To steal Nike’s phrase: Just Do IT! (And, yes, the capital I T is intentional.)
Here are some additional suggestions for protecting your identity and finances.
Setup a separate and secret email address to use only for banking, investments and other highly sensitive information. Don’t share this email address with your friends and colleagues. One of the benefits of having this secret account is when you get a phishing email from your bank saying there is some sort of problem, you will know it is phishing because it landed in your everyday account and your bank accounts only communicate via the secret account! If it lands in your secret account, then you can take it more seriously.
You can create a free email account at gmail, but there are no guarantees it will remain secret. For better security, create a free email account at https://proton.me or https://tuta.com
Want to protect your credit card number? Use tap to pay. Most credit cards have added this feature. When you use tap to pay, the vendor receives a unique token that connects their sale to your credit card, but they never get the actual credit card number. If they never have your credit card number, they can’t accidentally expose it! It’s a win-win.
If you are traveling, avoid public Wi-Fi. Instead, tether your device to your cell phone data plan, also known as a hot spot, if that is included in your phone subscription. If you must use public Wi-Fi, do so with a VPN. Proton.me has a highly rated VPN. Comp-U-Talk includes the Avast VPN with all antivirus subscriptions and that would cover your laptop.
Backup your phone. Backup your computer. All modern cell phones have the ability to backup your data to the cloud. Go into your settings and search for backup. It will walk you through the process from there.
Your Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers can also backup data. You will need an external drive. We have those in stock, swing by and get one if you need one. Once the external drive is available, on Windows 10 go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Backup. On Windows 11 search for Control Panel, switch to large or small icon view (top right) and choose Backup & Restore (Windows 7). Follow the prompts to complete a backup.
Mission critical/business data should be backed up to the cloud. Comp-U-Talk has several affordable plans for backing up business data. Give us a holler and we will set it up for you.
Getting the annoying popups about “our site uses cookies”? Never accept the cookies. The cookies are tracking you with the intent to directly sell you “stuff” or sell your data to someone else. It’s OK to say no to cookies! Your privacy and hips will say Thank You!
Until Next Month,
Stay Safe,
Janet
Because It Made Me Laugh!
