Have You Considered Your Online Security?

The majority of us are online on a daily basis, whether for work purposes or for leisurely reasons. We use the internet to shop, communicate, socialize research, perform our job roles, and much more. It’s truly an invaluable tool that we have all come to love, but with it, unfortunately, does come risks that are important to be aware of. Adequate online security is simply a must to keep your identity protected and your information safe.

As professionals in securing confidential content, PROSHRED^® Miami would like to reinforce to our clients why it’s critical to be cautious online, and what practices can be put into place to prevent fraud and cyber theft.

Remember these security tips the next time you are online browsing, shopping, or sharing information; being proactive in ensuring your information is safe is the best way to prevent any problems down the road.

Online Shopping

To sustain your online security, you should implement specific processes, and as always, pay attention to details. For example, select strong passwords that are hard-to-guess include a combination of both numbers and lower/upper case letters. If and when you shop online, always double check that the retailer’s security certificate is displayed, and that the website you are on is 100% secure. If a computer lacks proper security software, it is much more susceptible to threats like viruses and other malicious software. If this occurs, any information that is shared or processed on that specific computer may be in trouble. Potential issues that may stem from this situation include theft of personally identifiable data, bank account information, and finally credit card numbers. To remain secure from these risks, be sure to confirm there is an HTTPS lock symbol in your browser address window when making an online purchase.

Social Media

From Facebook to Instagram to Twitter, social media continues to dominate the online world. The fact is there are more opportunities and sources in which online hackers can access your confidential, personal information. While sharing any activity on a variety of social media platforms, never ever provide private details like your social security number. Sure it seems like an obvious detail to keep private, but sadly these cases do occur and can result in damaging consequences as a result. It’s also a great idea to change your online passwords on a regular basis to enhance security efforts. Unless necessary, we suggest any information pertaining to your birthplace, workplace, and current location stays off social media accounts entirely.

Be sure never to store credit card information online or on any third-party app purchases. Carefully look over any questionable friend requests, as often cyber criminals will create fake profiles in an effort to connect with you for their gain. This can lead to fraudulent behavior, where your Facebook account and more could very well be hacked.

Anti-Virus Software

Investing in anti-virus software is well worth the purchase, and it will keep you protected. These programs are designed specifically to prevent, search for and detect any alarming activity that is malicious, such as worms, adware, trojans, and more. Paid protection is definitely more effective than free software. Never skip over using antivirus software as it’s a critical component in online safety.

Any individual or company that generates, stores, or shares sensitive material, should highly consider using professional shredding services for 100% protection. This refers to more than just document shredding; all sensitive content including hard drives, need to be professionally destroyed to protect your privacy.

At PROSHRED^® Miami, we will help your business with the shredding of your old content; both documents and electronic material. Whether you have hard drives laptops or backup tapes to dispose of, we’ll handle the process for you in a manner that protects your sensitive information. Our secure services guarantee that your business is secured from data exposure and that you remain in compliance key privacy legislation.

Get in touch with us today for additional details. Call 1-305-306-9558!