Applies to: Anyone who uses the internet.
You may have seen Tim’s latest Newsletters all about Data Privacy and how it affects us all, even if you don’t shop or bank online.
As it is Data Privacy Day (Saturday 28th January) I wanted to take a moment to talk about what the Good Guys* are doing to help you manage your data online.
A note from Mike
There are loads of links below if you were to click only one… I would click the ‘Data Checkup’ link for the service you use most. Mine is Google so I did that one, then I did the Facebook one too.
Data Checkups
If you use any of these services then I strongly recommend you take 5 minutes to click through and review your privacy settings, most have a friendly wizard which explains what each setting means, and of course if you have any questions you can always pop on here and ask us.
Simply click the link for each service you use and follow the Data Checkup Wizard, you will need to be logged in to each service to use this.
- Google https://myaccount.google.com/intro/privacycheckup
- Facebook https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/443357099140264
- Yahoo https://login.yahoo.com/account/security (not a full checkup, but make sure they have an up to date phone number and alternate email address)
- Microsoft https://account.microsoft.com/profile/ (not a full checkup, but make sure your contact details are correct and check the Privacy tab along the top blue bar to make sure your details are correct for example phone numbers and alternate email addresses)
Add 2Factor login
2Factor login is a way to login into a website using something you know (a password) and something you have (your mobile phone). Not interested in this? Then skip ahead to “What else can I do?”.
Adding this means that even if someone guesses or finds your password they still need your phone to actually get into your account.
These are the most common services who provide 2Factor logins, follow each link to read more and activate it if you want to
- Google https://www.google.com/landing/2step/
- Facebook (via WikiHow) http://www.wikihow.com/Activate-2-Step-Verification-in-Facebook
- Apple (iCloud) https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204915
- Yahoo https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN5013.html
- Microsoft Accounts https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/12408/microsoft-account-about-two-step-verification
A full list of websites which have 2Factor login can be found here https://twofactorauth.org/
Warning: This means if you want to login to your account and you don’t have your phone you can’t unless you prepare and print backup codes. Pop a note on The Clubroom if you are unsure (before you setup 2Factor login).
What else can I do?
As previously mentioned you can use a Password Manager to keep track of all your passwords, this also means you can have really strong passwords for each website you use. Even if you use 2Factor login it is wise to have a good password
Signing up to https://haveibeenpwned.com/ allows you to get alerts if a company loses your data in some way (find out more here), it’s free and trusted
Type like a hacker! (no hacking experience or actual hacking required!) http://hackertyper.net/
Stay Safe
Mike 🙂
*Not the Goo Guys as I just accidently typed, those are Cadburys Cream Eggs which I LOVE!
You can read about Tim’s new book, Privacy: Truth and Lies here.
