Security Best Practices
- Never click on links in suspicious or unsolicited emails. They can lead to sites or files with malware, viruses or other malicious content.
- Keep your computer up to date and install anti-virus software. Regular updates and anti-virus software can prevent known bugs and viruses from infecting your computer. For more information, visit OnGuardOnline.gov
- Don’t install software from unknown applications or websites. They can contain viruses that open up your computer to cyber threats.
- Use strong passwords. The longer the password, the stronger the password. A mix of capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols make guessing a password difficult and harder for your accounts to be hacked.
- Don’t share your usernames and passwords with anyone. Giving this information away can invite “bad actors” and lead to an account takeover.
- Review your online accounts. Make sure to review your transaction history on a regular basis to protect yourself from fraudulent activity. If you bank online, use our online banking portal to monitor your accounts 24/7. Learn more about online banking.
- Ensure that retail websites are secure before entering your payment information. Look for ‘https’ before the website address on retail websites. The ‘s’ stands for secure and tells you it’s safe to enter your card number and other sensitive information.
- Always log off completely after finishing an online transaction. On a shared computer, this best practice will help prevent your information from being used in a subsequent transaction.
- Store only the sensitive data that you absolutely need. Storing unnecessary sensitive data can leave you more exposed in a cyber-attack. If you must keep copies of files with sensitive information, back up your files and store the backup in a secure location.
- Never leave your computer unattended and open. One of the easiest ways to gain access to private information is to take it from a computer that’s left unlocked. Protect yourself by shutting down, locking or putting your computer to sleep when you step away from it.
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