Spring is in the air! Throw back the drapes, pull the blinds and open the windows. Let the sun shine in. Oh my, there are quite a few dust bunnies that didn’t seem so apparent during the dreary, dark winter days. While you’re at it, how about taking care of some of the cyber clutter that has built up as well? Your social media platforms and apps may warrant looking into if you have been neglecting opening the hood and performing a tune up. You want to make sure that everything is safe and secure and optimally running. It’s easy to get lax in attending to your digital assets, but it’s just as easy to clean them up.
Social Media
Your first step is to investigate your privacy settings. Occasionally, social media platforms will send you an email regarding changes in policies. It is so easy to ignore and tell yourself that you’ll look at it later. Let’s look at it now! Some settings you may want to check would be who can see your posts and how much information you have shared. Who can view your friends and photos? Look at your friends list. Don’t remember who that person is or why you added him? Kick him to the curb! Check your past posts and pictures to make sure that you really want to leave something you uploaded in 2015 out in the cyber community.
Apps
If you have downloaded apps to your mobile device, make sure you are keeping them up to date as well. No longer using the app? Delete it! Unpatched apps present a security risk.
Junk email
Did you sign up for information on a site that required your email address? No longer have an interest in that site? Unsubscribe. Most of these vendors will have a link in the page for you to submit to be released from their email solicitations. Word of caution though–be careful not to unsubscribe from a vendor email you don’t recall. Many times that is how unscrupulous marketers get you on their list. So you purchased something from Ted’s Homemade Jams for Aunt Suzie’s birthday and now continue to get emails when you are no longer interested, hit the unsubscribe link.
When is the last time you changed your passwords? It’s a good practice to get in the habit of changing it up on a regular basis. And, remember, never use the same password on multiple accounts. If one gets hacked, they ALL get hacked. You might want to also enable two-factor authentication for an added layer of security.
Did you know that some platforms allow you to set up alerts for unrecognized logins from devices or browsers that you don’t normally use?
Now take a deep breath. Breathe in that refreshing feeling of digital spring cleaning completed!