We surf the Internet on a daily basis. Many of us are already considered digital natives. Yes, it is almost an extension of us, but are we really aware of the scope of our use of it? How do we use it? And, above all, how do we let them use our data?
This 28 January we celebrate European Data Protection Day. This is an annual day initiated in 2006 and promoted by both the European Commission and the Council of Europe and the different data protection authorities in each country. Its purpose is to raise awareness and to inform both citizens and companies of everything related to rights and responsibilities in the field of data protection.
On the occasion of this celebration, at ElevenPaths we want to share with you 4 simple tips to give more protection to our data on the web. Ready? Open the lock because here we go.
Post-it Notes Are Not a Good Ally for Passwords
We know that you handle several passwords on a daily basis and that remembering them all is very difficult, if not impossible. But trust us, post-it notes are not the best way to keep them. Although sometimes it can be a bit of a chore to have to keep so many numbers, letters and symbols safe, think about the value of a password. Passwords are the gateway to our entire web world, to our inner self, and that is why it is so important to know how to keep them and treasure them.
As we already know, it is not advisable to repeat passwords because if someone discovers them they will have access to more than one of our accounts or web services. Likewise, we should not be tempted to share them with anyone and, much less, leave them written down on unsecured media, such as a post-it note, paper or even a Whatsapp chat.
Always keep your eyes open to where or to whom you give your passwords because phishing attacks are always around the corner waiting for us to fall into their trap. How do we avoid it and keep our passwords always safe? Two ideas: we can use a password manager and validate two-step verification.
Always Check the Small Print
Are you one of those who downloads and installs apps and programmes without reading the permissions you accept? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one, but you may think twice next time.
If we do not read the conditions and permissions that we are giving, we may find ourselves with an intrusion into our personal data that we ourselves have consented to. Therefore, it is recommended that you invest a few minutes of your time in reading and understanding, always before accepting, the terms of the downloads and installations that you are carrying out.
Our advice is to always go to official sources and markets and do not accept when you don’t know the channel or you are not sure of their authority. Don’t click on suspicious links! Check the permissions they ask for (although it may seem boring) and set up the app or programme securely and correctly before you start using it.
If You Want to Sleep Soundly, Make Backups
Whether through the now classic external disks or from the cloud, always make backup copies. In case of loss or theft, both physical and online, of our devices or accounts, we can always turn to them to rescue the most valuable information that we have considered saving on them.
A simple solution, available at the click of a button, that will undoubtedly allow us to sleep completely at ease.
What do experts recommend? Two physical copies, one of them offline (not connected) and another one in the cloud.
Information is Power
And more so when it comes to Internet security. Keeping up to date with the latest attacks, advances in cyber security, the latest antivirus… All of this information will give us a broader knowledge to be well protected in our devices.
In this sense, updates, like changes, are welcome. They are always for the best and seek to reinforce our security in the most optimal way, thus correcting the flaws of previous versions. Whereas it is true that our current devices often update automatically, we also recommend keeping up to date with the latest updates to make sure that we comply with them and celebrate this European Data Protection Day in the best possible way.
All of this advice can be summed up in acquiring knowledge about the technologies that we use on a daily basis, in order to do so in an even more responsible and secure way.
