Spring has officially sprung, and you're probably itching to clean house! Especially now that you're spending so much time at home, or maybe you're used to working remotely. Either way, it's a great time to clean not just your physical surroundings, but also your digital ones as well. Maybe you've been letting files pile up in a folder or on your desktop, or you haven't backed up your systems in a while. Take this time to clean out your inbox, among other things, and I promise your data security and your sanity will thank you later. Here are five ways you can improve cyber hygiene this season.
Old Data? Toss it
Any data you keep online has the potential to be stolen. Ensure data security by removing irrelevant data from the web, especially if it's sensitive or personal information. There is simply no need to keep all of that unnecessary information stored where someone could easily access it. If you do still need it, then we suggest moving it to a secure offline facility.
Back it Up
Back up whenever possible, or have automatic back up applied. You never want to be in a situation where you lose all of your data because you didn't have a recent enough backup or even no backups at all.
Update
We can't stress enough the importance of keeping your systems up to date. Without patches and updates, you're leaving yourself wide open to exploitable vulnerabilities and therefore attacks. Make a plan for updating and even a schedule if that helps you stay on track.
Scrub That Inbox
Few things feel better than a clean inbox, and that's not even an exaggeration. Once you delete that last email and see the blank emptiness staring back, a sense of calm begins to wash over you. Experience it for yourself by cleaning out old messages. If there's anything you still need, archive it or add it to a separate to-do list and knock some things out. It's especially important to clean out your inbox if it contains sensitive data. Hackers will find it, no matter how old it is.
Social Media Sweep
Most people own a social media profile of some sort. Take the time to update certain aspects of your profile and omit others. Oversharing on social media is a surefire way of giving hackers everything they need to hatch a personalized phishing campaign against you. While you're doing that, also be sure to update any privacy settings. You may still be using the default settings, which can often give strangers more access to your account than you realize.
