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Just two years ago, most of us worked in offices and personally visited financial institutions to handle our banking transactions. With the onset of the pandemic, everything changed and many of our financial tasks went digital. This remote - and almost entirely digital world - made online protection for consumer data and assets even more vital.
When it comes to online protection this shift to the digital space created more challenges. The online community has become more susceptible to the work of hackers and scammers; wherein some instances your money and personal information could be compromised in seconds.
So, how can we protect ourselves against these hackers?
5 Tech Tips to Protect Yourself
You can start by taking some steps with your technology to help protect your information and your assets.
There are behaviors that can help to protect us online as well. At work, a lot of these things were reinforced with training and system settings. Try to develop the same care at home:
At Power Financial Credit Union, we are committed to doing all we can to protect your personal and financial information. We leverage industry leading technology and best practices to keep your money and your personal and financial information secure. In addition, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to enhance our security.
Take advantage of our secure online banking services and have the peace of mind knowing we have your back.
Just two years ago, most of us worked in offices and personally visited financial institutions to handle our banking transactions. With the onset of the pandemic, everything changed and many of our financial tasks went digital. This remote - and almost entirely digital world - made online protection for consumer data and assets even more vital.
When it comes to online protection this shift to the digital space created more challenges. The online community has become more susceptible to the work of hackers and scammers; wherein some instances your money and personal information could be compromised in seconds.
So, how can we protect ourselves against these hackers?
5 Tech Tips to Protect Yourself
You can start by taking some steps with your technology to help protect your information and your assets.
- Always update your software. One of the surest ways to stay safe online is to keep all your software up to date. Hackers discover new vulnerabilities all the time, and programmers try to provide quick corrections. Many software companies allow you to set your computer for automatic updates. Using them is not a bad idea.
- Consider paid protection. Yes, there are good free firewalls and anti-virus programs out there. But with a lot of these free programs, you get the value you pay for. Many firewalls and anti-virus programs can be reasonably priced and, considering the costs of a successful hack, can be well worth the money.
- Consider a VPN. A virtual private network (VPN) is an encrypted internet connection from your digital device to a specific network. The protected connection helps make sure that your sensitive data is transmitted safely. It keeps unauthorized people from intercepting the data and allows the user to conduct work remotely. Many larger businesses use them for their remote workers, but they are also available for individuals.
- Two-factor authentication. Using two-factor authentication is much more widely available than it once was and is mandatory with many sites. Two-factor authentication requires an additional step with a password, such as the use of Authenticator app or obtaining a code from a vendor, before being able to access the site. Even if someone does get your password, without the Authenticator or your code, they still cannot access your information or accounts.
- Home Wi-Fi security. Make sure to use a strong password for your home Wi-Fi, and don't give it out readily. If possible, look for strong firmware for all the equipment in your home as well.
There are behaviors that can help to protect us online as well. At work, a lot of these things were reinforced with training and system settings. Try to develop the same care at home:
- Stranger danger. If you get an email, text, download or popup that you don't recognize or from someone you don't know, just ignore it. Just as your IT people at work always told you, don't open anything you don't know and check the address to make sure the email is really from who it says it's from.
- Digital meetings. If you're meeting online, take the opportunity to make the meeting private. Require and use passwords and meeting codes.
- Put Alexa to bed. Make sure that when your meetings end, you shut off your camera and your microphones. Don't make it easy for someone who hacks into your system to watch or listen to what you and your family are doing.
- Keep the personal personal. Don't mix your online personal life with your online digital life. Use a separate email for your personal and business lives and keep them separate. Make sure your business connections only get the business address. If you're working remotely for a company, they may already require that you use an email address within their system.
- Browsing settings. Browsers allow you to set parameters for where and when users can go. You can set tighter parameters for your children and even review their browsing history to make sure they're not venturing into dangerous territory. Keep track of who goes where in your system.
At Power Financial Credit Union, we are committed to doing all we can to protect your personal and financial information. We leverage industry leading technology and best practices to keep your money and your personal and financial information secure. In addition, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to enhance our security.
Take advantage of our secure online banking services and have the peace of mind knowing we have your back.