How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

Internet is a public network of nearly 50,000 networks connecting millions of computers throughout the world. When we register to become a member of this website, we need to fill in some personal information. The information is including name, date of birth, gender, address, telephone, e-mail address, occupation and interests. “Personal Financial Information” means any record containing a customer of a financial institution, whether in paper, electronic, or another form, that is handled by behalf of the institution or its affiliates.

Nowadays, the advancement of information technology (IT) makes privacy data being exposed to the public easier than before. Thus, there were so many people had become victims that their confidential data was stolen for unauthorized or illegal purpose. Hence, safeguard of personal and financial data has become an important issue for public now.

For you, how do you safeguard your personal and financial data? Have you done proper safeguards for your data? Nowadays, computer and internet are very common to everyone. We will rely on computer to save our personal data and using online financial services to do financial transactions such as online banking in order to safe time. Therefore, do you think the safeguards that you make are sufficient enough to protect your confidential data?

Here are a few approaches on how to safeguard our personal and financial data:

1. Avoid to access own privacy data in public
Users are advised not to access own privacy data in public such as cyber café and restaurant by using provided computers. It is because these computers may unsafe for users as it may contain some software (Key-logger or Trojan) to obtain user’s data. Users should also remember to sign out owns account after they are finish visiting the website such as facebook and hotmail to avoid other user can access to their account. Avoid using passwords that are easy for someone to guess, such as the name of your favorite pet or your date of birth. Never write this information down and never carry it in your wallet or briefcase.

2. Change password frequently
Users are encouraged to change password for every period of time such as one month. Changing password can helps to safeguard users’ personal and financial data. As an Internet user, we should have the common knowledge on how to preventing Internet scam. The fraud and scam cases are increasing every year, our government should education Malaysian on how to prevent those scam before it’s happened. In additional, we should not too depending on the antivirus that it is not the sufficient strategy to protect our financial data especially the bank account since the hacker and cracker still able to break those anti viruses.

3. Pay attention when using an ATM
Keep your eyes peeled for anyone who seems a little too interested in your transactions. Use your free hand to shield the keypad when entering your PIN. Besides that, banker can add on fingerprint scanning on ATM machine. Keep credit cards to a minimum. Only keep the ones you actually use and destroy any that you no longer use by shredding them.

4. Install antispyware and antivirus software
Firewall, anti-virus software and password are useful to guard your computer information from the nefarious. User should always update their firewall in order to make it able to block hacker’s unauthorized access. User ought to purchase and install anti-virus software such as Kaspersky, and update it as it helps detect and delete all the Trojan, worms and malicious programs that threat users’ privacy. Symantec, Norton and Avg antivirus are popular software use by computer users. Its clean computer and protect personal information, financial data and etc.

5. Be vigilant while using internet
Try not to visit those unfamiliar web site that those site which been warned by our anti-virus or browser (Firefox). These sites may contain down loadable malicious programs which hided in the some file which user do not know. Not to download unknown programs from the internet is encouraged since it may contain malware. Internet users likely enter into a phishing web by clicking the hyperlink that provided in web pages. Therefore, always be vigilant on the hyperlink provided by web pages in order to avoid phishing fraud as financial information and passwords will be scamming. Users are strongly encouraged to delete cookies, temporary internet files and caches that compromise owns privacy after internet activities.

6. Keep your card close.

Whether you are out shopping or eating out, watch how clerks handle your card. Then take your receipt with you and never throw it away in a public place. Users should also review monthly financial statements not only will alert people to possible fraudulent transactions or charges, this may also helps in finding legitimate charges for services that are either redundan.

Sources:

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST06-008.html
http://www.finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/103893/six-ways-to-safeguard-your-online-assets