How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

As we know the internet contains about 50,000 networks connecting millions of computers in the world. It is publicly accessible series interconnected computer networks that transmit data. These data can be divided into several categories. Each category of the data needs various level of protection.

Before computer is being used, people store their confidential data in a locked cupboard or hide under their beds. But nowadays people used to keep their data in their personal computer.

Personal Data
Those stored privacy data are usually from a wide range of sources like the healthcare records; criminal justice investigation and proceedings documents; financial institutions and transactions statements; biological traits, such as genetic material; residence and geographic records; and also their ethnicity background.



Financial Data
The information about one’s personal financial transactions, such as the amount of assets owned, positions held in stocks and funds, outstanding debts, and made purchases can be very sensitive. If criminals able to access to the information such as one’s account number and credit card number, which means that person might become a victim of fraud or identity theft.
Whereas information of one’s purchases can reveal a great deal about that particular person’s history, like places that he had visited, whom he had contacted with, products he usually purchase, his activities and habits, or his medications which he had consumed. There are cases where some corporations use these information to target individuals with customized marketing strategy towards those individual’s personal preferences, which he may or may not agree with it.

Here are some ways how to safeguard your personal and financial data.

1. Use a credit card with a small limit when buying through mail-orders and online purchases. By doing this may avoid dishonest sales person to use your credit card information. Cards with low limit will not help those thieves to rack up many bills before you hit the wall.

2. Reviewing your monthly statements is a simple thing you can do to prevent your financial data being stolen. Yet many people neglect to do it. This method not only will review your monthly statements, and on the other hand you may also get alert of possible fraudulent charges and find legitimate charges that are not necessary or redundant.

3. Choose your pin wisely. While you are choosing something that you will remember, but you do not want it to be something that a wise thief could crack out just by learning your date of birth, your identification card number or your child’s name. Choose a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols will offer you more security. Remember it by heart, never write it down and carry it in your wallet or mobile phone.

4. Protect your personal computer’s security by using as many tools as to guard your computer from being hack. Install spyware, anti-virus software, firewalls to tighten the security. Failing to protect your personal computer is like leaving your doors unlocked, windows widely open and with a banner saying, “Welcome burglars!”

5. Do prepare for a disaster. It is very important to make sure that you safeguard your family’s important documents in case of disasters. You can keep an emergency box on hand which includes copies of the important documents in sealable plastic bags or you can purchase a fire proof safe for temporary protection of your valuables. You can also rent a safety deposit box from a bank which located outside of your immediate vicinity, in case of the disaster effects the whole town.

6. If information is shared with other user or using the services on a public computer of a public library or internet café, remember to close all the browser windows and logout properly before leaving the place. It is to avoid other users from reading your personal information and also your e-mails.

Prepared by: CHOI LAI YEET