February 2016

Safety first!

Social media is here to stay, and it’s a great way to connect. Our concierges have been busy using social networks to share events, news, tips, and recipes we hope you’ll enjoy. But with all that connectedness comes a new set of risks, and we think it’s important to talk about. Since you can easily access (literally) a million+ tips for staying safe online, we’ve narrowed our list down to 4 concepts that will do you a lot of good if you put them to use.

1) Take passwords seriously.

If there’s one thing everyone should do, it’s this: become awesome at passwords. Unfortunately, good passwords are a pain and difficult to manage. Sometimes it seems a lot easier to lock ourselves out than to keep out online evildoers. Still, if you’re at all interested in keeping your personal information personal, it’s an effort worth investing in. To do it right, you’ll need to have a different password for each account or website, make each of them complex, and change them regularly. Because of those requirements, almost no one is doing it right.

Seriously, how?

The solution to the password problem pretty much boils down to two evils. You’ll choose the one that’s lesser for you. If you have the ability to confidently use a Password manager, that’s likely to be your best bet. Just make sure you’re using it to manage super-complex, regularly changing passwords. If you don’t feel comfortable setting up a program to manage your passwords, you’re probably a password-book person. Now, nerds and security people hate these, but they’ve blossomed into a bona fide industry. But if you disguise your book, keep it safe, and use good password hygiene, they’re more likely to get the job done than shoddy or silly passwords.

2) When in doubt, throw it out.

If you’ve fallen victim to a malicious download or an online scam that cost you money, you’re in good company. Plenty of smart people have to play the fool in order for online scammers to rack up $13 billion in stolen cash like they did in 2014. As a rule of thumb, be conservative when it comes to playing it safe. If you get an email asking you to log in somewhere, throw it away. If a mysterious someone says you owe them money, ignore it. If you do owe them money, they’ll find a legitimate way to identify themselves. When you don’t recognize the person who’s sent you a friend request, it’s okay to decline. And if your computer starts acting crazy, it’s time to do a virus scan. Having good passwords will protect you from many risks, but carefully choosing where and with whom you engage is equally important.

3) Close unused accounts.

If you’re more likely to get robbed on Facebook than to post something there, close the account. Guilt about not using a popular social network is a terrible reason to leave your account lingering. Unused accounts left open are just unnecessary risks. When you do decide to close an online account, go through and delete as much personal information as possible. This will minimize your risk exposure and make your online profile much easier to manage.

4) Check your privacy settings regularly.

If you’ve consciously chosen to keep a social networking site in your life, manage it consciously. There’s big money in big data, and web companies are constantly finding new ways to get more information — even about you. Online networks change their terms and settings all the time, so the only way to stay on top of your privacy is to monitor it. Log in, visit the “Privacy” tab, and make sure nothing looks fishy. If it does, Google it or ask a friend or colleague.

Stay safe out there!

We hope these tips will help you stay safe in the wild wired world. If  you have any questions, please share them with us on our Facebook page.