How to Safeguard our Personal and Financial Data?

Nowadays, threats of online security getting serious as days pass. Internet users cannot assure that their personal information and financial data are as secure as previous time. In order to avoid any unauthorized access from internet, variety of safeguards must be taken in order to protect our personal and financial data.

Personal firewalls and security software packages which include anti-virus, anti-spam, and spyware detection features are a must for those who engages in online financial transactions. Users need to make sure that their computers have the latest security patches, and make sure that they are the only person that can access to the online brokerage account on a secure web page by using encryption.

Firewalls are the software and hardware products that intended to define, control and limit the access to a website, network or computer system. Firewalls help users to protect their data and help them to prevent unauthorized access via internet. Besides, most web browsers have the ability to communicate securely with a website by encrypting the information as it passes across the Internet. This method of communication is called Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Users can keep their personal information and financial data confidentially by this method.

Moreover, using security tokens can make an identity thief harder to access to a user’s online brokerage account. This is because these small number-generating devices offer a second layer of security for internet users. Besides, internet users must be smart in creating their password. The best passwords are ones that are difficult to guess. For example, try to use a password that consists of a combination of numbers, letters, punctuation, and special characters. Users should change their password regularly and use a different password for each of their accounts. Do not even share password with others and never reply to "phishing" emails with your password or other sensitive information.

Last but not least, users must always remember to log out completely when done using their online account. Log out completely can terminate the online session and help to prevent others from gaining access to users’ account information. Online security is everyone’s responsibility. We cannot predict the unauthorized access and damage through internet anytime. Therefore, we must take the safeguarding of our information seriously.