Don't Get Poked: Protecting Your Digital Identity

Social networks have changed the way we communicate, interact and share our lives with others. These open lines of communication have the potential to make the world a better place by creating exciting new opportunities and changing lives. Unfortunately, social networks also expose our personal information to anyone with good hacking skills and bad intentions.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country, and though there is no real way to protect yourself completely, there are certain best practices you can follow to minimize your risk. Follow these tips to avoid being targeted by cyber crooks:

The Password Is…

Forgetting your username or password is unbelievably frustrating. If you’re like me, you have to manage logins for multiple email accounts, dozens of social networks, online banking, credit cards, and more. The easiest way to prevent this is to use the same username and password for all your accounts, making them nearly impossible to forget.

This is a recipe for disaster. It only takes one security breach to compromise your entire digital persona, especially if the clever hacker then changes each of your passwords to prevent you from recovering your information. Damage can range from severe identity theft to embarrassing Facebook status updates, neither of which are fun to deal with.

To protect yourself, its important to develop a system that helps you create different passwords for different websites or groups of networks. You don’t want your banking information to be the same as your email, and social networks should have their own set of credentials as well. Here are a few additional password tips:

1. Passwords should be 7 or more characters, and should include at least one capital letter, one number, and one symbol
2. Try to avoid using easily identifiable passwords such as “1234” and “password”. These are the first combinations hackers will try.
3. Change or rotate your login information every few months. Most major corporations require their employees to do this as a safety measure – follow their lead.
4. If you need to write your passwords down, be sure to lock them in a safe place such as a fire safe box. Treat them the same way you would treat your social security card.

Speaking of Passwords

Internet browsers usually offer to save your passwords for fast access to all your favorite sites. What most people don’t know, however, is that anyone can easily discover all your saved usernames and passwords with only a few clicks. In fact, take a look at just how easy it is on Firefox:

If you’re using a public computer or a work machine, avoid clicking the “remember my password” button. When you’re at home, make sure to password protect your computer so that guests can’t easily find your passwords when you step into the restroom for a minute.

Where’s Waldo? He just checked in at Starbucks.

Location based social networks are all the rage these days, with popular networks such as FourSquare, Facebook, and Google+ offering check in services. As fun (and delicious) as it is to become the mayor of your local Five Guys restaurant, location based social networking can also be dangerous. Let the world know you are on vacation for a week, and you’ve just given thieves a free pass at your home.

If you are a fan of location-based services, try not to announce the length of your trip or all the people you are with. This can save you the trouble of coming home to a ransacked home while you were busy tweeting about how juicy your burger was.

Keep Your Private Information, well, Private

There are some pieces of information that should rarely – if ever – be shared online:

1. Social Security Number: This is the most important number in your life (even more than your twitter followers). If you need to enter it, make sure it is an encrypted SSL connection and the site is trustworthy. Hint: Secure sites will have https:// instead of http:// in front of the URL.
2. Mother’s Maiden Name: For some silly reason this is still one of the most popular security questions for banks, credit cards, and other private financial information. Ask mom nicely to keep her maiden off Facebook, for your own protection.
3. Pictures of Your Home: Posting pictures of your new bachelor pad might impress your friends, but it also gives crooks a blueprint of your home. Couple this with Foursquare updates, and you might as well leave your key under the mat.
4. Credit Card Numbers: It’s almost too easy to make online purchases with your credit card today. Similar to entering your social security number, make sure you only enter your credit card on trusted sites with an encrypted connection.

Use Your Noggin

Though a fairly thorough list (ahem), these are only a few best practices to protect yourself from cyber crime. Use common sense when surfing the web, and protect your digital assets like you would your birth certificate or social security card. Sharing YouTube videos might be fun, but sharing your bank account info with a two-bit crook never is.

What tips do you have to protect yourself online?