BBB: Digital Spring Cleaning: Simple Steps to Protecting Your Online Identity

Spring is in full swing despite the recent cold spell across Texas, and chances are your weekend plans will include scouring baseboards or preparing for a flea market. While eliminating traffic jams is an annual ritual for many households, the National Cyber ​​Security Agency (NCSA) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​have come together to remind all consumers not to forget their digital mess.

This is becoming increasingly important, especially as data breaches occur more frequently in our hyper-linked world. It was only six months ago that the Equifax break touched nearly 148 million Americans and revealed very personal information such as the Social Security numbers. Not even later than last week, there were some other big data breaches against companies like Under Armor and Best Buy.

A good rule of thumb is that you always observe all sensitive accounts such as online banking, your credit cards and your credit report. A recent survey by CreditCards.com shows that half of Americans have not yet reviewed their credit reports since Equifax broke in September.

For those who want to do a digital update, this is a relatively simple process. NCSA and BBB have identified our best tips and tricks that everyone should follow this spring and throughout the year.

Maintain a clean machine: Make sure all software on devices connected to the Internet - including PCs, smartphones, and tablets - is up-to-date to reduce the risk of malware infection.

Block your credentials: Your usernames and passwords are not enough to protect your home accounts such as email, banking and social networking. Add additional levels of security such as biometrics or a PIN. For example, a new scam called Portage shows on your smartphone by hacking your phone number and accessing your personal accounts. One way to avoid this is to call your service provider and set up an authentication number. That way, you can not change your phone plan without first entering this authentication number.

Get your presence online: Check the privacy and security settings on the websites you use to make sure they stay and share at your comfort level. It is good to limit how and with whom information is exchanged. This is particularly important because of Cambridge Analytics' massive privacy of Facebook, which affects approximately 87 million users.

For more information on spring digital cleaning , visit BBB.org . To report a scam, visit BBB.org/scamtracker .

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