From data breaches, to stolen identities, and hacked social media profiles (remember Kanye West, Elon Musk and former President Obama’s fake crypto currency scam tweets?), the internet is having a scammy moment.

There is a saying that goes, “If the service is free, you are not the customer, you are the product." Over the years, this has proven true as tech giants like Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, and many others come under increased scrutiny for how they use, repurpose, package, and sell their customer's data. The problem is that millions of people are unaware and uninformed about how their personal information is being used, collected or shared. So the fact that you’re here means you care and want to take back control of your digital life. Here are some simple steps to take action and secure yourself.

1. Check if your IP address and location are being exposed to potential hackers

VPNs were typically used by remote employees to access files and programs on the business network (aka intranet) as if they were actually in the office, but now with so many of us working from home-- more and more people are seeing the importance of a VPN. 

So how does a VPN work? A VPN makes going online safer and more private by stopping people from seeing who you are, where you are, or what you’re looking at.  It’s like a temporary IP Address that you can use to hide your real one. 

Without a VPN your location is readily available for anyone to access. That means if hackers know my IP address they can also find out more information about me like my city, state, and ZIP code. And by using this information, hackers can design better-targeted attacks to hack my other devices, obtain information such as bank details, passwords, and more.

Ok so what do you need a VPN for? You might need a VPN if you want to do things like:

• Stay safe while using public Wi-Fi.

• Stay safe while peer-to-peer (P2P) gaming or file sharing.

• Stop nosey sites from tracking you.

• Bypass the Internet censorship in your country.

• Speak out safely as a journalist or political dissident in a repressive country.

• Watch streaming video content from another country.

Now let’s talk about cost, VPN’s are not something that will break the bank. I use Malwarebytes Privacy VPN which starts at $60 up to $100 per year. There are free VPNs but you need to be careful because there is no such thing as free lunch, especially when it comes to the tech space. The free services make their money by selling your information which is kind of the reason you want to have a VPN in the first place.

Use this link for 25% off: https://www.malwarebytes.com/lp/sem/en/

2. Practice Data Minimization

Don’t be a data hoarder. Manage your privacy settings. Disable cookies and limit data that tracks your website browsing and avoid signing onto sites through your social media accounts.

With social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, go into your privacy settings and feel free to deny or access privileges. Look at the permissions that are granted and limit any unnecessary data collection and sharing

Avoid public Wi-Fi, especially if you are online banking.

Avoid signing onto sites through your social media account, that way you also limit third-party access to your data.

Want to view or change your privacy/security settings, but don't know where to find them? Use these direct links to update your privacy settings on popular devices and online services.

Check here: https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/managing-your-privacy/manage-privacy-settings/

3. Protect devices with an antivirus solution

Malware is a threat to not only personal computers, but also smartphones, routers, and even TVs—and the benefits of antivirus software are obvious. Aaaand yes, even your Apple devices can get viruses. Less malware is aimed at Macs than at PCs, but that’s changing. For antivirus software might look into MalwareBytes.

Traditional antivirus is losing the battle against malware. Their cybersecurity technology finds malware on 39 percent of devices that already have antivirus installed. Malwarebytes Premium removes malware, viruses, and other threats from your device in seconds, and stops future infections with Real-Time Protection that works 24/7.

4) Make your password long, strong and complex

Raise your digital hand if your password is “123456" or what about "password”? The good news is you're not the only one, these are the two most commonly used passwords on the web. The problem is, most of us don't know what makes a good password and aren't able to remember hundreds of them anyway. So here’s a rule of thumb, at least 12 characters, mixed with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Don’t use dates or names of loved ones or anything else that hackers can find with a Google search.

Why does this matter? There's a common type of attack where a bot will continually guess passwords until it cracks the code. Oh, and a bot can make about 10,000 password guesses a minute and it knows all the common patterns that many humans use when creating a password to make its guesses even more likely to work. Remember: bots>humans. 

5) Use a password manager

My brain was not built to remember 100 different passwords. No one was. if you follow all of these rules, you’re going to have too many passwords to memorize. But you’re going to have to store them somewhere, so make sure that somewhere is safe too. Security experts have urged us for a long time to use a dedicated app to create and keep track of secure passwords for you. 

Password managers like Dashlane save and autofill all your passwords and login information on every website, so you never have to click “Forgot password?” again. 

BONUS:

Keep firmware updated on all devices, use a guest network for visitors and maybe try to replace the router given to you by your internet service provider. An upgraded router can add additional security features.