With spring on the horizon, some people’s mental cogs might be turning over the need to box up the quilts and sweaters, their hands itching to brandish a cloth and assault winter’s last dusty vestiges.
Despite the absence of harsh chemicals involved in the process, there’s no reason this same urge to spruce and scour can’t be applied to your digital lifestyle, too. Here are five ways to make sure your devices end up as spick and span as your house.
1. Refresh your password. As the first safeguard between your data and prying eyes, security software developer Symantec recommends rotating in new passwords for your computer, email, bank account, social network and other sensitive services once a month – three months, at the most. Stolen user information sometimes is resold to a third party, so even if an account has been hacked without your knowledge, the thief may not use it immediately. By changing your password, you could seal the breach before thieves get the opportunity.
In an online guide to developing better passwords, Symantec, the developers of the “Norton” antivirus software suite, suggests strong passwords must avoid:
• Easily guessed phrases or sequential series – “ilovemydog,” “password” or “12345.”