Digital spring cleaning: best practices

Finally, it’s that time of year when the days are getting longer and everyone seems to have a renewed amount of energy. There’s one popular pastime that cannot be ignored and everyone seems to be doing it – spring cleaning.

The month of April seems to inspire a large amount of the population to clean their homes, yards, vehicles and workplaces. What about your computers, phones and any other digital devices?

Pause and take inventory of all the digital devices you own. Below we’ve listed how you can expand your spring cleaning into the world of all things digital. These best practices will keep you cyber safe, protect your personal data and even your identity.

Update software

Make sure all of your software on every device is up to date. Updated software reduces the risk of infection from malware. Do this on all devices including PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Authentication tools

These days, there’s an account for everything. However, some accounts obtain more sensitive information than others. Your important accounts include email, banking and social media. Take steps to enable tools such as biometrics, security keys or unique one-time codes to ensure that you are the only one with access.

Passwords

Most people are familiar with the dreaded password change. It might not be the easiest or most exciting change to make, but it is one that is important and could cost you more if it remains unchanged.

Declutter and purge

One of the best parts of spring cleaning is the decluttering! It feels great to purge and simply get rid of things that have gone unused for far too long. Do this with all of your devices! Try going through your phone and get rid of apps you no longer use, unsubscribe from emails you no longer care to receive, delete unnecessary files and back up your devices.

Review your security settings

In light of everything that has been in the news lately, it’s never a bad idea to review privacy and security settings to become familiar with the amount of personal information that is being shared. It’s up to you how much information people see and have access to.

Whether these suggestions are completely new to you or this is the tenth time you’ve been told – consider this another spring cleaning reminder! Some of these suggestions will only take a few minutes at most. Most of us would agree taking a little time out of the day to complete these tasks is better than the potential consequences that could follow if they go untouched.

For a variety of best practices and all things security, check out the Secure360 blog.