Our team watched this CNN Business video with our jaw dropped when we saw how easily hacker Rachel Tobac was able to get information about journalist Donie O’ Sullivan. Just from looking at his social media, she was able to do everything from get his home address, birth date, and telephone number, to change his seat on an airplane.
Related: Do your kids know how to make safe passwords?
You’ve got to watch for yourself.
See, we weren’t kidding.
Thankfully, Tobac shares her pretty simple tips to help you protect your own personal data and the data of your loved ones, which if you’re too time-pressed to watch the video, might surprise you, because it actually has nothing to do with better passwords. (Though that’s important too.)
Related: How to create strong passwords and keep them safe
1. Tobac suggests that we remove all geo-location tagging, whether it’s automatic tagging, or your own “checking in” to places. Do people really need to know where you were or are? No. This does interfere with folks who use services like Life 360, so just keep that in mind.
2. If you’re going to message companies, do it privately – whether it’s by calling them, emailing them, or if you have to use social media, direct message. It’s tempting to air your grievances or even share praise on your social media accounts, but if you truly want to protect your data, send an email.
3. And finally, keep your accounts private. For some of you (like our blogging and influencing friends), this might not necessarily be possible, but if you truly want to protect your data, this is the choice to make.
Thanks to Donie for taking one for the team. We hope the middle seat wasn’t too uncomfortable.
Photo by Charles ?? on Unsplash
