Archives - Personal Information


If you’re doing anything sensitive, utilize private browsing

Private browsing is a feature you can turn on in most browsers to disable the collection of cookies and internet history links as well as prevent the storing of any information. While your ISP will still be able to see your data, this can be useful if you wish to hide your online activity from […]

Use fake answers for security questions

Many account recovery features include answering security questions such as your father’s middle name or the city you grew up in. But you don’t necessarily have to use real answers, which would make someone trying to break into your account unable to even if they knew such information. If you want to say your father’s […]

Be cautious when supplying personal information online

Unless you trust a site, don’t give your address, password, or credit card information. Look for indications that the site uses SSL to encrypt your information. Although some sites require you to supply your social security number (e.g., sites associated with financial transactions such as loans or credit cards), be especially wary of offering this […]

Don’t provide personal information to a website unless the “S” is present in “https”

The hyperlink bar in your web browser will tell you when a connection is secure by adding an “S” to the end of “http” in your browser. If the “S” isn’t present, it means the connection is not encrypted and the information being sent over the network isn’t private.

Safeguard your data from capture

Networks without passwords do not encrypt your connection. Accordingly, it’s possible for other connected users to spy on your activity, including any password you type. Don’t view your bank balance or log into any accounts tied to a debit/credit card while on public Wi-Fi. Cellular is much safer in these cases.

Never throw out old hard drives without securely destroying them, even if they don’t work

This might seem like a pain, but hard drives don’t lose their data very easily. If you want the information on a hard drive to be permanently eliminated, make sure the parts that house the data are destroyed before discarding it. This means destroying the platters and circuit board inside the hard drive completely beyond […]