You must constantly work to keep your personal information private, as prying eyes can access your data in various ways.
There are a lot of things that you do that might put your private information in your accounts at risk of being exposed. What are some of them?
- Leaving your computer or any other device unlocked and unintended in a public place.
- Staying logged on to any account online after finishing your business on it.
- Leaving excess applications that have no use on your mobile device.
- Ignoring necessary updates on your phone, in addition to giving away too much private information to applications.
- Keeping private information, such as social media account passwords and credit card pins, on your Samsung or iPhone notes. Those can easily be taken.
- Not paying too much attention to the fact that another person is going to use your phone after you sell or get rid of it. Hence, if the device isn't properly formatted, your information can be easily exploited.
- Working in a public place nonchalant to anyone who can simply look over your shoulder and get ahold of your password, for example.
Tips for you:
- Lock your desktop: When you're in a library or your office, make sure to lock your desktop when you leave for class, a break, or lunch.
- Log Out: Nowadays, we are all used to doing almost everything online. We shop and sell, take care of our banking issues, and exploit a lot of our valuable information on the internet. Hence, never forget to log out completely when you finish a mobile banking session.
- Review your phone: Indeed, you might not be using your phone, but that doesn't mean no one can access it. Always disable your Bluetooth or GPS if not needed. Also, review your phone regularly to remove any applications, not in use.
- Protect and update your phone from viruses when downloading applications. Beware of applications that ask for unnecessary information (like your camera and microphone).
- Never Store sensitive information: Most importantly, you can never know if your phone ever gets stolen. So, never store sensitive information like passwords or account numbers on your mobile device. You can go old school and write them down on a small notebook.
- Clean and clear: A lot of us make the mistake of getting rid of or selling our electronic devices without formatting them properly. Clean and clear your mobile device before detaching it from yourself.
- Inform student affairs, IT, and your bank if you change your phone number or lose your mobile device.
- Be aware of your surroundings (shoulder surfers) when dealing with sensitive information, or when someone plugs a USB drive into your computer.
Report immediately any suspicious activity to it.helpdesk@aub.edu.lb