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Smart and Easy Ways to Protect Your Digital Life

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Even if you don’t realize it, your identity is all over the internet. Whether you posted to an internet forum in 1996 or you ever had a MySpace page, this information is still out there, and you have to protect it. Here are some simple and easy ways that you can protect your digital life:

  1. Change Passwords – The first thing you should do is make sure you are regularly changing passwords. Make your passwords difficult to guess, and a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols. Also, make sure that you are protecting your account when resetting passwords. For instance, you should have to answer “knowledge based authentication questions” before making a change.
  2. Take a Look at Account Activity – Many companies allow users to check out their recent activity. Google, Facebook, and Twitter are three examples. If something seems out of place, report it, immediately.
  3. Close Accounts You Don’t Use – Do you have an old MySpace page? Did you start a Blogger and never use it? If so, go and delete those accounts before they get hacked.
  4. Don’t Share Too Much – What do you share online? Are you getting too personal? Hackers can use personal information, such as your birthday, or even favorite sports team, to get into your accounts. This is especially the case if you choose to use this information in your passwords or in your password reset or knowledge based authentication questions.
  5. Use a VPN – With all of the talk about internet security making headlines, the safest way to access public Wi-Fi is through a VPN. A VPN, or virtual private network, encrypts your information.
  6. Don’t share account passwords – STOP THE MADNESS! Though you might think it’s cute to share a social media account with your spouse, it’s also dangerous. The more people who have access to your accounts, the higher the chances of getting hacked.
  7. Choose Trusted Contacts – Make sure to choose a couple of friends or family members as trusted contacts. That way, if you get kicked out of your social media accounts, they (meaning their email or mobile#) can help you get back in.
  8. Update All of Your Software – Finally, make sure that you are updating all of your software such as your OS, apps, or even Office docs when prompted. Don’t let those updates wait. Many of them contain important security updates, too.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Coming up, Your Phone contains your Driver’s License

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Gone are the days of the fat wallet bursting at the seems, since smartphones can now contain most anything that a wallet does—except the driver’s license. But don’t write that possibility off just yet.

5WForbes.com reports on a story from the Des Moines Register that the Iowa Department of Motor Vehicles is hot on the trail of getting driver’s licenses into smartphones: an app that would contain all the applicable data, a scannable bar code and a two-step verification which would include a biometric.

The technology isn’t quite with us, but we all know it will be here soon enough. And needless to say, the smart driver’s license will bring with it security concerns.

The Forbes article points out that a digital identity expert sees the glass half full. In other words, today’s security features are reliable enough to go ahead with confidence in developing the technology to get a driver’s license into a mobile phone. “I believe all the technologies to make this a high-security operation are already in play,” the expert states, “and just need to be orchestrated effectively.”

If anything, perhaps the driver’s license inside the smartphone will reduce the potential for fraud involving driver’s licenses.

Thus far, digital driver’s licenses are used at airports, and the feeling is that policies regarding the digital driver’s license are more important than figuring out a way to perfect the technology.

A good start for Iowa would be to get things rolling with the private sector, says the Forbes article, by letting it use digital licenses for minimal transactions such as age verification when purchasing liquor.

Let’s first see how these smaller-scale transactions go over, is the thinking, before diving head first into using cyber licenses for full-scale transactions such as “showing” it to the police officer who pulls you over for speeding, or using it for making a large purchase with a check.

Nevertheless, it’s not probable that cyber technology will replace all hardcopy/physical documents, especially since there will always be that segment of the population who insists on doing things “the old-fashioned way.” The power of paper.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

15 tips to Protect your Digital Life

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How much of “you” is stored inside your smartphone? For some of you, the answer will be “My entire life.” And that’s practically true. For many, all sorts of highly private, sensitive information, including photos, are stored in that little device called a smartphone.

7WBut here is a better question: Did you know that “you” can be hacked into or in some other way stolen? And remotely at that? And some hacking methods can be very sly and sneaky. Even if your device is tethered to your waist every second, you still need to protect it from remote thieves. Here’s how to protect your smartphone.

  1. Customize your mobile so that if some smart-azz at a party snatches it, they won’t be able to figure out how to get your information. Use a custom lock screen and ambiguous icons for nameless applications—the dork-head won’t have a clue. Do you really want to have an icon sitting on your screen labeled “Finances,” “Banking Info” or “Hot Pics”? Remove default apps too. This won’t stop a skilled hacker, but it will stop the typical doofus in his tracks.
  2. Avoid public Wi-Fi such as at airports, hotels and coffee houses unless you are using a VPN from Hotspot Shield.
  3. Disable your GPS to keep your location hidden.
  4. Stay clear of unofficial versions of the popular applications. These are often found on 3rd party sites.
  5. If you use Google maps, disable or don’t enter your home address.
  6. If you’re not using the Internet, get offline.
  7. Keep far from applications that require some kind of strange permission.
  8. Don’t save your passwords in your browser, even though this is convenient. Instead use a password manager; this is more secure.
  9. Enable a passcode on your device. If you have an Android, customize your lock screen. For the iPhone, use a longer passcode, not a PIN.
  10. Go through all of your apps to make sure that they don’t have access to personal information that you don’t want them to have access to. Pay close attention to all of those checkboxes you click for the “agreement” portions of installing apps. Every month, audit your apps.
  11. Never save a password in a very private application like that of your bank’s. Having to log in every time is a small fee to pay for the security this brings. Similarly, always log out completely from your e-mail every time you’re done using it.
  12. Use cloud encryption for your personal information. The Android allows encryption for all data on the device.
  13. Keep the phone’s operating system and app software updated. Don’t get lax with this.
  14. Anti-theft software. Enable the remote wipe function. This kind of app will help you locate a lost or stolen smartphone, but don’t delay in setting this up.
  15. Keep a backup of all of your device’s data.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

6 Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life

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It’s the New Year so time for new starts and new resolutions. With a new year upon us, now is a good time to clean out the clutter. Clutter is overwhelming, messy and inefficient and it transcends in both our physical and digital lives.

Here are some tips to help clear the clutter out of your digital world.

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1. Backup the Data on Your Devices
You are (hopefully) about to delete lots of stuff.

  • Back up everything you have onto an external drive – make sure this is your files, contacts, browser bookmarks, photos and any other important content you would want
  • Don’t forget to back up your smartphones and tablets as well
  • For extra de-cluttering, set up a secure cloud backup that runs 24/7

2. Organize your Computer

Organize files on your desktop and within desktop files, including consolidating several similar files into one file.

  • Delete duplicate files and ones that you do not need
  • Rename files so you can locate them easier in the future
  • Uninstall programs you never use

3. Clean Up Your Browser

  • Go through your bookmarks and delete the ones you don’t use
  • Clear out your cookies and browsing history
  • Disable or delete any add-ons or plug-ins that you are not using

4. Monitor Your Social Media Accounts

  • Cancel accounts on sites you don’t use—leaving your profile up can make you more vulnerable to cyber attacks
  • Go through your friends and/or follow lists and see if there’s anyone on there that you don’t want updates from any longer

5. Scrub Your Email Inbox

  • Move messages that you want to save into folders
  • Unsubscribe from mailings you never read or are no longer interested in

6. Scrutinize Your Smartphone/Tablet

  • Delete photos, music, texts or other items that you don’t use any longer
  • Remove apps that you don’t use any longer

Happy de-cluttering and Happy New Year!

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

6 Ways to erase your Digital Life

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You can make yourself “disappear” from the World Wide Web. But be forewarned: Most of the following tactics are irreversible. This includes losing any marketing presence you’ve built up over the years that can bring you business, and it can also result in being unable to restart an eliminated account with the same name or e-mail address.

1PSo before you begin the process of erasing yourself, ask why you wish to disappear in the first place. Are you merely a private person and don’t want your personal information where the whole world can see? Or do you feel threatened in some way (e.g., cyberstalking)?

Re-evaluate your reasons before proceeding. After all, you can create multiple e-mail accounts, for instance, in which one is strictly for business and one is strictly for family. And when registering on any new social media sites or forum boards, you can use a pseudonym. Nevertheless, here are tips on removing your cyber existence.

#1. Delete accounts. Systematically go through every account and delete. To nab every account you’ve ever created, since it’s possible you may not remember some, go through this list:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • StumbleUpon
  • Flickr
  • eBay, Amazon, Craigslist
  • PayPal
  • Support forums (medical, parenting, pet ownership, business, etc.)
  • Gaming sites
  • Content sites you’ve written for
  • Freelance job sites
  • The local online newspaper where you’re registered to post comments to articles

 #2. Facebook. Go to Account Settings—Security—Deactivate account. This removes you from visibility, but the account remains just in case you change your mind. To eradicate the account altogether, go to Delete My Account and hit the blue button.

#3. Twitter. Go to Account Settings—Deactivate my account—Okay, fine, deactivate account. “Deactivate” means delete in this case, but you have a 30 day grace period to change your mind.

#4. LinkedIn. Go to Privacy & Settings—Account—Close your account.

#5. Google+.  To remove only your public information, click your name/e-mail address (upper right corner). Go to Account Management—Delete profile and remove related Google+ features—Delete Google+ content.

To remove the entire Google+ account, repeat the above, then hit Delete your entire Google profile. You’ll still be able to use, for instance, your e-mail (gmail), but to eradicate every molecule of Google+ (e.g., mail, calendar), go to your homepage and hit Close account and delete all services and info associated with it.

Mopping up Residue

With the big four gone, now go after smaller accounts. This includes the forum board you registered with 10 years ago for adult acne support but never posted anything. To aid in tracking everything down, use:

  • Account Killer. This tool provides direct links to every account deletion page.
  • Knowem. This tool does a username search on hundreds of social sites.

Then remove personal information from background check sites. This involves more complicated procedures.

#6. Hotspot Shield VPN is a free VPN service that protects your device’s data by ensuring that all web transactions (such as filling out forms, shopping, downloads, etc.) are secured through HTTPS.

With Hotspot Shield, your device basically will be surfing through a protected tunnel away from prying eyes and helps maintain some anonymity on an IP address that in most cases can’t be traced back to your home address or anywhere you’re at or have been.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

A Digital Life Through the Eyes of a Child

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McAfee’s 2013 study, Digital Deception: Exploring the Online Disconnect between Parents and Kids, examines the online habits and interests of tweens, teens, and young adults. It found there is an alarming and significant disconnect between what they do online and what their parents believe they do.

The study shows that 80% of parents did not know how to find out what their kids were doing online, while 62% did not think that their kids could get into deep trouble online. As for the young people, the study found that 69% said that they knew how to hide what they did online from their parents, and (disturbingly) 44% cleared their browser history or used private browsing sessions to hide their activity from their parents.

While youths understand that the Internet is dangerous, they still engage in risky (and sometimes illegal) behavior. Not only are they hiding this activity from their parents in a variety of ways, but in the study almost half (46%) admitted that they would change their behavior if they knew their parents were paying attention.

86% of youths believed that social sites are safe and were aware that sharing personal details online carries risks, yet kids admitted to posting personal information such as their email addresses (50%) and phone numbers (32%).

48% have viewed content they know their parents would disapprove of.

29% of teens and college-aged youths have accessed pirated music or movies online.

Adding to this problem is how clueless parents are regarding technology and their kids’ online lives: 54% of kids said their parents don’t have time to check up on their online behavior, while 42% said their parents don’t care what they do online. And even worse, only 17% of parents believed that the online world is as dangerous as the offline world, and almost 74% just admitted defeat and claimed that they do not have the time or energy to keep up with their kids; theysimply hope for the best.

Parents must stay in the know

Kids have grown up in an online world. They may be more online savvy than you, but giving up isn’t an option. You must challenge yourself to become familiar with the complexities of the online universe and stay educated on the various devices your kids are using to go online.

Here are some things you can do as parents to get more tech savvy:

Get digitally savvy: Whether you’re using a laptop, desktop, Mac, tablet, mobile, wired Internet, wireless, or software, learn it. Get to know the technology as good as or better than your kids.

Get on social media: By using your devices to communicate with the people in your life, you inevitably learn the hardware and software. This is a good way to learn a key method that your kids use to communicate.

Manage online reputations: Google yourself and your kids to see what’s being said. Teaching your kids what is and what is not appropriate online is a must these days. And as a good rule of thumb, you should teach your kids that things posted online stay there forever.

Get secure: There are more ways to scam people online than ever before. Your security intelligence is constantly being challenged, and your hardware and software are constant targets. Update your devices’ security software and invest in programs to manage and filter their access.

Two great online resources are www.wiredsafety.org and www.staysafeonline.org.

Robert Siciliano, is a personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto and author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked! . Disclosures