Taking care of you: Top 10 personal tech organization and safety tips for today

January is National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month and Clean Up Your Computer Month in the United States. Taking our personal safety seriously is just as important as healthy eating and getting enough exercise. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to protect and take care of ourselves in this world where both good and bad things happen. Why? Because we simply can’t take care of anyone else we care about – or dedicated our professional career to – unless we first ensure we’re able.

So, where do we start? Personal self-defense covers a lot of topics and our computers….well, the tie seems a bit remote.

The word “remote” is exactly the point we’re going to focus on in this blog. Today, we all work remotely to some degree thanks to the advancement of the personal technology devices that connect us to the rest of the world. Not only are our laptops connected, but our tablets, phones, and watches are now literally and virtually attached to us and the Internet measuring our steps and monitoring our bank accounts. It’s more important than ever before to keep our information organized and as secure as possible.

If we think of our technology devices as the busy streets and buildings of a large city of communications where there are people we can see and people we can’t see all around us as we navigate in and out of businesses, schools, and neighborhoods it is easier to envision why going through the hassle of keeping complicated passwords and being diligent about backups is necessary.  Just like that city, there are people and places we can trust more than others.

Online, there are websites and platforms that we can be fairly confident that breaches of confidentiality, theft of identity, hacking, cyberstalking, or any other malicious activity won’t be present. There are other places online that we should be more cautious. Just like the dark alleys, abandoned buildings, and basement hideout of criminals in cities, hackers who steal access to our devices in various manners hide out in streams of code that our devices interface with behind the scenes. And, in all cases, it is good to remember that crime can happen anywhere and anytime in both the literal and online world. Practicing personal awareness and self-protection is just smart.

Here are a few tips to protect yourself:

1.     Keep your personal information as private as possible. More and more of our daily transactions and business is done online in fairly safe environments. Security measures are far more sophisticated today than they were even a year ago. Many would even argue that banking and shopping online are safer than exposing yourself to potential theft through a busy mall or street while shopping in person. However, it is still prudent to take precautions. Bottom line…Do not share personal financial information unless you are using a very strong and unique password and the site has secure encryption (Hint: https:// instead of http:// will appear before the website address). 

2.     Use different passwords for every site requiring login credentials. The criteria for password length and composition varies from site to site so there are no hard and fast rules for how to establish passwords. Generally, however, those with combinations of lower case and upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols that are at least 8-12 characters in length are best. Changing them on a regular basis and keeping them stored in a securely encrypted app or in a password-protected document or spreadsheet is also highly recommended. Bottom line...Make your passwords difficult to guess and keep them safe.

3.     Use a password manager to store your usernames, passwords, account numbers and other detailed that should remain secure. There are several highly rated applications designed to help you manage the many passwords you need to use and store. Choose one with the highest level of security you can afford. Look for SOC 2 compliance from the American Institute of CPA’s Service Organization Control reporting platform that assures security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of customer data. The key is to find one that works for your needs and budget. You can find updated recommendations for 2019 at any of these sites: ASecureLife.com, DigitalTrends.com, PCMag.com - Paid Password Managers, and PCMag.com - Free Password Managers. Bottom line…The days of storing your passwords in your contacts, in a spreadsheet (even if it is password protected), or on paper are over. The most convenient and secure method of storage is an encrypted password manager application.

4.     Read the privacy and any user policies of the websites you use. Make sure that your Internet Service Provider (ISP), online chat services, websites you fill out any forms on, and social media platforms have policies that prohibit cyberstalking and maintain confidentiality to a level with which you are comfortable. Bottom line…If a situation online becomes hostile, puts you in a position of fear, or misuses your personal information in any way, remove yourself from the situation, document it as best you can, and contact a local law enforcement agency.

5.     Get creative with your answers to security questions. We would never recommend lying about anything except, perhaps when it comes to protecting yourself online. All of those security questions such as the make and model of your first car, your father’s middle name, your favorite color, etc. are helpful in adding another layer of security to your account, but only if the answers are not easily found by doing a little research on you. Instead of replying with a straightforward answer, consider using responses that are unconventionally spelled, those that a friend might give, or even opposite of what you’d truthfully answer. Then be sure to store the questions and your answers in a password manager so you don’t forget your responses. Bottom line…Don’t use answers that are easily found or guessed for security questions.

6.     Remember that the Internet is one big online archive with many doors of entry. All websites and social media platforms – even if they are password protected – store your information on servers that have varying levels of firewall protection. They can be hacked. Even the world’s most sophisticated companies and governments are occasionally hacked. They also store information in their online cache (storage files) that can be recalled in search engine queries years after the information is no longer accessible by searching through the platform or website itself. Bottom line…Be careful with the opinions and comments you share online. They will live there forever.

7.     Backup your computer’s files to both a cloud storage site and a hard drive and then delete anything that isn’t relevant to your current projects. You can always access these files on your backups if needed. And, freeing up space on your computer will allow you to more easily detect something popping up that shouldn’t be there. Sometimes advertisements or pieces of unwanted software and malware get installed when downloading unrelated documents and applications. Bottom line…getting your computer files organized and stored not only gives you more space but allows you to be more aware of what is being loaded onto your computer.

8.     Review and organize all of your incoming emails. Part of protecting yourself from unwanted fees and interrupted services is keeping up with your email inbox. If you are like most professionals, you receive far more messages every day than you can possibly answer in the short time you have available for email. Consider setting up a few minutes at the beginning and end of the day to implement a tactic developed by productivity expert Merlin Mann, the Inbox Zero approach. Make an intentional decision for every email in your inbox to either Delete, Delegate, Respond, Defer, or Do something. Making these quick decisions avoids getting distracted by unimportant or non-urgent content or stuck in the feeling that you must Do something with every message. Bottom line…However you organize your email inbox, set up a system that allows you to intentionally see and process messages in a timely and efficient manner so you don’t miss any important information or deadlines or get overwhelmed with topics that distract you from working on your important goals.

9.     Remove yourself from email lists that you never read. Getting onto dozens of email lists is easy to do. Retailers ask for our address and our since we hate to miss a bargain, we give it. Publications we really want to read (or think we should read) request it. Organizations we support, associations we belong to, and many more are interested in access to our inboxes. The reality is; however, we simply don’t have time to read it all and the flow of incoming emails can become so overwhelming that taking time for the Inbox Zero approach mentioned above is next to impossible. Bottom line…Determine what email lists really matter to you and unsubscribe from the rest. 

10.  Schedule breaks from technology every day. Research is telling us that even though technology is bringing us many advantages, too much time using it is bad for our physical and mental well-being. Author and Speaker Simon Sinek does a great job of explaining the addictive qualities of texting, social media, and mobile technology in general. Behavioral scientists were reported in Fast Company as finding that excessive technology use whether on productive or unproductive activities is linked to depression, accidents, and even death. Thankfully, most developers understand the need for some boundaries and there are now even apps designed to remind us to take breaks. Bottom lineDisconnecting from technology regularly protects our health and happiness by allowing us more time to connect with our own thoughts, the people we care about, and the natural world around us.

Before any more of the new year passes, why not take some time to be sure you've updated your passwords, deleted unused accounts, cleaned up your email files, and scheduled some breaks? You'll be defending yourself online, making your computer run more efficiently, and taking better care of yourself and loved ones all at the same time!

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Interested in learning how Balance Concierge can help your team? Contact us to learn more at 877.502.2201 to visit with a member of our leadership team.