Protecting Your Money By Protecting Your Data
One of the easiest ways to be smarter about protecting your money is to make sure that your digital data is always under wraps. For people who have grown up knowing that security is a priority, this is usually not too much of an attitude transition. But for newcomers into the virtual world especially, making sure that you use the latest possible security features can be a little daunting.
Protecting your finances means using email encryption, VPN services, password vaults, and regular checks to your credit history. All of those things are very easy to set up once you know what they are, and then it should be smooth sailing as far as keeping your financial information secure.
Email Encryption
How carefully do you pay attention to the emails that you send and receive? Are there ever any pieces of financial information out there that you wouldn’t want people to get a hold of? If so, you should be using email encryption. There are many different ways to do this, but any corporate solution that uses military-grade encryption or end-to-end encryption is probably going to be your most secure option. We’ve all heard of people’s email getting hacked, and then their identity getting stolen. Don’t let this happen to you.
VPN Services
When you use VPN services, then you’re protecting yourself against potential hackers or intruders as well. Because your origin and destination markers are going to be translated into different areas, anyone who might be snooping in on your history won’t know where your particular signal is coming from. It adds a little bit of time to your browsing experience, but not only will it help keep some of your financial information more secure, but it will also prevent advertisers from keying in on your website habits.
Password Vaults
Lots of people have a default password that they use. This is a terrible idea! If a hacker gets ahold of just this one password, they have access to all sorts of information, potentially even data that could get them into your financial archives and records. To combat this, install a master password program that keeps all of your info secure, but lets you use all sorts of multiple, random passwords locked in by just the one that you can remember. It is the best of all worlds when it comes to security.
Checking Your Credit History
When you check your credit history at least once a year, you’re giving yourself a chance to spot any fraud before it might become a problem. It’s free to check your credit history from a few different places, so even browsing occasionally can keep the worst financial consequences away if you catch any odd behavior quickly enough.