How to Protect Your Personal Data? Instant Guide

Online!

Well, you hear and use this word ten times a day.

So, what about data security when you are online?

Worried? Needn’t to!

In this instant guide to data security, we have discussed some common data security issues and how to protect personal data while you are online in 2021.

What is personal data?

Well data that belongs to any individual user is termed as a personal data. You use this data to login to online platforms, make payments, do online transactions, and more. Personal data examples could be your credit card details, home address, ID card number, Tax ID, phone number, medical history, email address, passwords, etc. Now that you use this information very often while being online, it becomes important to protect personal data.

Data security threats

The recent stats on data security suggest that the year 2020 was alarming when it comes to identity & data protection. The most common data security threat is identity theft that causes loss of billions of dollars every year to users. Unauthorized use of your personal information to make transactions online has surged drastically in recent years. If that was not enough, threats arising from social media platforms have also causing trouble. Even the big companies have been a culprit of data theft and we can’t forget ads targeting techniques used by big brands when you are online.

How to protect your personal data?

Your personal data is used to serve you targeted ads and that’s just an example of why you should act fast to secure your important data. You can imagine what criminals could do with your personal data if it is not protected well. Let’s discuss how to do this?

1. Keep software up-to-date

Software updates are releases periodically to offer bug fixes, security patches, and new features. Cyber-criminals could expose and misuse known loop-holes when you are running an old software on your device. Thus, it is suggested to keep device software up-to-date for better security. Follow this guide for Windows and Mac to update software instantly. You should also consider updating Android and iOS devices for complete security.

2. Use a strong password

This goes without saying as strong passwords are basic to data security. You should use alpha-numeric passwords with minimum 8 characters or more. You should use letters, numbers, and special characters to build strong password. You can also use the best password manager software to generate and secure your important passwords.

3. Set up two-factor authentication

2FA or two-factor authentication is new normal to keep your data secure when you are online. In this process, you will get a pass code on your registered mobile number to enter in addition to your password to access any service online.

4. Avoid clicking random links in an email or elsewhere

You get a tons of emails and promotional messages every day. Well, you are not alone. The important fact is that you should beware of these unknown and suspicious links and don’t ever click on these links when you are receiving these emails and messages from unsolicited senders. If they ask you to claim your bonus or bumper prize or even they try to threaten you in multiple ways, simply avoid it.

5. Avoid public Wi-Fi

Now that the data plans are more affordable, free Wi-Fi doesn’t seem appealing. But, still many people use free Wi-Fi in nearby coffee shop to make online transactions. The idea is you should avoid it completely as cyber-criminals could breach your device security with a small piece of malicious code when you are on open (non-encrypted or password protected) network. You should always use a strong password and keep your network encrypted for better data security. While most ISPs provide encrypted network, it’s always good to double-check to avoid threats.

Conclusion

So this was an instant guide on how to protect your personal data in 2021. Follow these steps and share your experience in the comments below.