Technology

How to Protect Your Household Technology from a Data Breach

Data breaches seem to be happening more often these days, and while most of the targets of these breaches are large companies, hackers are opportunistic enough to go after just about anyone they can. Naturally, that includes home computers, smartphones, smart TVs, and just about any household technology that can connect to the Internet. Aside from staying on top of federal technology news to keep tabs on possible data breaches around the country, there are still plenty of things that you can do to protect your own household from hackers. Fortunately, these are all surprisingly easy measures to implement in your home, so let’s take a look at what you can do to keep your own technology safe from malicious hackers.

Create Secure Passwords

The easiest way to keep your technology safe from data breaches is to create strong passwords for all of your accounts. This means never choosing something that would be too easy for someone to guess if they knew you, so no important birthdays, anniversaries, or the names of loved ones or pets. If you’re having too much trouble coming up with a complex password that you’ll remember, you can always use a password manager like the one that comes with Google Chrome.

Know When to Change Your Passwords

Creating strong passwords isn’t enough to keep you safe; you also need to know when to change your passwords. Technically, you should be changing your passwords periodically anyway just to make sure that all of your accounts are secure, but you should also make changes if you ever hear about a data breach from a large company or website, especially if it’s a site that you visit frequently.

Shop Online with a Credit Card

While hackers can certainly steal your credit card information and charge up your account, that is still a (slightly) better-case scenario than having your bank account information stolen. You’ll still need to dispute the charges on your credit card, but at least you won’t have to deal with a bank account with a negative balance in the meantime.

Act Fast When Affected by Identity Theft

If you suspect that your information has been stolen or compromised, act quickly to freeze or close any accounts that may have been affected. After that, contact your local Social Security office to find out what you should be doing next.

Set Up Account Alerts

Hackers can do a lot of damage with your information before you know they have it, so set up alerts for any account that you can. These alerts will tell you about any suspicious activity on your account so you can act accordingly. Again, be sure to act quickly whenever you suspect that you have a problem.

Just about every household has at least one device that connects to the Internet, so security is more important than ever. Follow these tips for keeping your account safe, and always be on the lookout for any suspicious activity on any of your personal accounts.

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Alex

Alex is the co-author of 100 Greatest Plays, 100 Greatest Cricketers, 100 Greatest Films and 100 Greatest Moments. He has written for a wide variety of publications including The Observer, The Sunday Times, The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Telegraph.

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