As the resident nerd among my friends and family, I often get asked whether it’s a good idea to put personal information into the cloud. This comes in the form of lots of different questions, like:

• Is it safe to share files with sites like DropBox?
• Why should I use a password manager?
• Is online banking safe?

I like answering these questions because it usually leads to an interesting conversation about fears. We’re all afraid of having our personal information stolen. Identity theft is a terrifying prospect. I’ve lost count of the number of letters I’ve gotten from various credit cards that a retailer was hacked and my information may have been taken. Five years later I’m still wearing the t-shirts I bought with that credit card though, so maybe it was worth it?

One of the first myths to dispel is that you can avoid any risk simply by not sharing your information online. You may not have the convenience that an online world brings (online shopping, banking, Venmo-ing your bestie for the coffee & donuts), but at least hackers can’t steal information that you don’t share, right? But unless you buy a cabin in the foothills of Wyoming and live off the grid like Robin Wright in Land, your information is already vulnerable as a side effect of the world we live in. Your cellular provider, utility companies, doctors – not to mention your federal, state, and local governments – all have lots of your personal information. And guess what – most of those have been hacked at one time or another. It’s almost a certainty in 2022 that at least some of your information is already for sale on the dark web right this moment.

So how do you protect yourself? I would love to write a “10 simple steps” article that will ensure you never get hacked, but you’ve probably already been hacked. If you’ve had a phone with AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile, or shopped at Target, Walmart, or Home Depot, or eaten at Chipotle, Wendys, or Panera, or had health insurance with Anthem or Primera, or if you’ve ever been a federal employee, (I could go on and on …) – well there’s already a chance your information has been stolen. The Equifax breach in 2017 had information about almost 150 million people stolen – people who didn’t do anything other than have a credit report. Living in that cabin in Wyoming wouldn’t even save you from that one unless you’d never used credit your entire life.

But the situation isn’t all dark and gloomy, there really are things you can do to protect yourself and minimize the damage if (when) it does happen. When you drive out to meet friends & family for dinner, you’re making a calculation that weighs the rewards of social time and tasty food against the low (but not zero) risk of getting into a car accident. You take precautions to minimize the risk – you drive safely and you keep your car maintained. We need to think of the online world in much the same way. Many of us have had a fender-bender, and we may have more in the years to come. But we keep driving and learn how to stay as safe as possible. Keeping your internet safety up-to-date is like keeping a careful eye on the road, and occasionally buying newer cars with better safety features.

First, constantly monitor your online world. Subscribe to an identity monitoring service (some are free). Review your bank & credit card statements. You don’t have to balance or reconcile them, just make sure it’s all stuff you recognize. If that $200 at the Phantastic Sunglassatorium in San Diego wasn’t you, call your bank immediately.

Back up your important files. And important doesn’t just mean your tax returns – I’m talking about photos, saved messages from past relationships, your cat poetry collection – all the stuff you truly can’t get back.

Only use your credit card, not your debit card. Both have protections. If you are paying attention and report a theft right away, your credit card company will cover it. If it was a debit card then your bank will cover most of it, and many times all of it. But while they figure that out, which can take weeks or months, it’s better to have that stolen money sitting on a credit card where it has no effect, rather than taken from your checking account balance (hope you didn’t have a mortgage payment coming out next week!).

Use a password safe please, people! Many times people steal data from your online banking because they actually hacked the reward points website from where you get those organic jams with locally-sourced fruit, and if you used the same email and password there as for your bank account, well… guess what? Use the free one built into every browser, or get one of the free or paid ones you download and install. Use a different password for each site. Don’t use your first-born child’s birthday as the password for both your online banking and for your PTA’s cake sale fundraiser site. Seriously, if everyone used a password safe and unique passwords for each site, a huge percentage of hacking would be unsuccessful.

For any website/app where you use or share sensitive information, turn on two-factor (multi-factor) authentication if it’s available. This is the feature where you login with a password, then they also send you a code through a text or an app. Most popular apps have instructions to turn on two-factor authentication (e.g. Google/Gmail, iCloud, DropBox, Evernote). Turning this on goes a long way towards protecting your account if someone steals your password. If your bank or any other financial or personal information site asks for a mobile number to text when you log in, do it – turn that on. I plan to write another article about this soon, and there we can discuss and debate the best options, but even the simplest option is better than nothing.

Stay tuned, there’s more. And guess what – it will never be enough. The smartest, most prepared people get hacked. Just like the most careful drivers in the safest cars available still get into accidents. But think of tips like these as your lane change warnings, bumpers, and airbags. Hopefully they’ll prevent you from getting into an accident. If you still get hit, hopefully they’ll minimize the damage.

Cover Image Credit: Mati Mango