According to the 2018 Norton LifeLock Cyber Safety Insights Report, more than 105 million U.S. consumers have been victims of cybercrime in the past year alone – representing 41 percent of the country’s adult online population – with losses totaling an estimated $11.3 billion. During this National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – and throughout the year – we want to help our clients and their families avoid finding themselves in a similar situation.
Since the average person spends nearly seven hours a day online, it’s important we keep security top-of-mind as we navigate the internet. Check out the helpful tips below:
- Be sure to share personal information, such as your credit card or Social Security numbers, on the internet only if you entered the web address and are using a secure browser. If the browser is secure, there will be a lock symbol all the way to the left in the URL box.
- Install personal firewall and anti-virus software on your computer.
- Set your operating system software (e.g. Microsoft Windows) to notify you when updates are available, and be sure to install them.
- Do not click on unsolicited pop-ups.
- Do not open unsolicited or unknown email, and use caution when opening email attachments.
- Set up multi-factor authentication on your email, phone and on all of your online accounts.
- Set up alerts on your financial accounts and monitor usage and changes to your accounts.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month serves as a good reminder to keep ourselves and our families safe. Check out these other articles on cyber-related topics and tips, including: data security, identity theft, wire fraud and protecting your business from a cyber attack.