Jonathan Addington, President of J.M. Addington sits down with Andy with Wyatt Insurance to discuss personal protection and steps to prevent cyber attack on your business and/or on your personal life. Here are five ways to secure yourself online, personally that will better protect you.
1. Always Use a Password Manager – Do NOT Allow Browsers to Save Passwords for You
The best thing to do when it comes to passwords is to make each one of your passwords unique. Random and unique passwords for every account make it hard for hackers to steal and it stops hackers from gaining entry to more than one site. Do not use your browser’s password manager, it is the easiest way for hackers to access your personal information and passwords. Don’t feel like you have to go back and change all your passwords today, but do start with your most sensitive ones such s email, all financial sites, social media, and Amazon. For a safe and secure password manager, J.M. Addington suggests these three sites, LastPass, Dashlane, and Keepass.
2. Get a Two Factor Authentication
An example of two-factor authentication is when logging onto an account you also get a code texted to you on your phone. This is the number one way to prevent attackers from getting into your accounts. J.M. Addington suggests turning it on everywhere you have an account.
3. Find Out What Passwords are Already Online
All of us have sensitive information available on hacker undergrounds. Our information is bought, sold, and stolen everyday. If you want to find out what passwords your hackers already have, sign up at Have I Been Pwned with all of your email addresses.
4. Keep Your Credit Frozen – Always
The only reason your credit should not be frozen is unless you are buying something right now that requires a credit check. When you freeze your credit no one can create a new credit account in your name. You do NOT need to pay for anything to freeze your credit. You may be prompted to purchase additional services in the process but the freezes are completely free.
5. Bonus Points
If you are disciplined enough to use a credit card and keep a low balance, then it’s safer to use over a debit credit card. Credit cards come with much better security and consumer protection than debit cards. However, they aren’t so good that it is worth getting into debt over!
To find J.M. Addington you can visit their website at jmaddington.com and you can find Jonathan on Linkedin at Jonathan Addington. Their office number is 865-240-2716 and Jonathan’s email is jonathan.addington@jmaddington.com. If you contact them at any of these places you will receive a link to Jonathan’s calendar to schedule a consultation on cybersecurity.