With the new financial year you may be wading though piles of financial records for the tax office or accountant, so it’s the idea time to do a tidy up of your digital life.
With so many of our connected devices such as mobile phones, notebooks, personal computers and tablets holding personal information, AVG Australia suggests taking stock of your data and getting organised.
The 5 Step AVG (AU/NZ) Digital Stocktake
1. Go Hunting
• Understand where all your data is stored: across multiple computers, hard drives, USB sticks, backup disks and DVDs.
• Search e-mails, files and paperwork for signup confirmations to sites you no longer use.
• Locate all paperwork that might contain passwords.
2. Get Organised
• Create an easy to find, e-mail folder system to hold all online confirmations and receipts.
• Have always on, automatically updated anti-virus and Internet security in place.
• Consider whether a reputable, Internet-based encrypted backup solution, for keeping data off-site, will provide peace of mind in the event of technical breakdown or an environmental disaster.
3. Password Protection
• Ensure any documents containing written passwords are hidden and secure.
• Password management applications are available for storing multiple passwords.
• Schedule regular changing and creation of strong passwords.
• Use a separate password for your e-mail account. E-mail contains an astonishing amount of information about our lives, and many identity thieves see this as the number one thing to get access to.
4. Press Delete
• Archive and delete old files – an annual stocktake means that this task is not unnecessarily daunting. Usually anything that has not been accessed in the last year can be safely deleted, unless, like Tax Records, you have some specific reason to keep it.
• Unsubscribe and close down accounts that you do not access.
5. Lock Everything
• Lock away all files that contain important or sensitive information.
• Every mobile device – all smartphones and tablets – should be protected. Ensure none can be used without first entering a PIN or unlock code.
AVG (AU/NZ) has a comprehensive range of security tips on its web site at http://www.avg.com.au/
I’m Andy Wells, thanks to AVG PC Tuneup – Fix errors and speed up your PC with a one off free-fix at www.avg.com.au/techtuneup
