Did you make a New Year’s Resolution this year?  Have you been able to keep it?  Here is a suggestion from your friendly computer guys… consider pledging to upgrade the security of your digital life.  Here are a few suggestions to get you on the right track.

Do you have a smart phone, tablet or mini computer? Enable the screen lock.  It may be a pain to have to enter the code every time you want to use the device, but if they get lost or stolen, others could access your email, your files, or even your social network sites.  While you are at it, turn on the anti theft feature.  Most carriers offer the service free of charge, and if they don’t look for a free app that can do the same thing.  The feature can help you find the phone when it is lost, or even disable the phone so that it cannot be accessed.

I am sure you have an antivirus program installed, but when was the last time you checked to make sure it was updated and run a full scan?  All good programs will do that stuff automatically, but it never hurts to make sure that it is doing its job. If you are unsure if you have enough protection, check with your IT guy.

You can also encrypt your usb thumb drives.  I don’t know about you, but I have some pretty important information on my usb stick. If you have encrypted the drive, and used a difficult to crack password, your data will be safe.  Just don’t forget the password you used, because it will cost you a lot of money to get the password removed.  Windows 8 will encrypt usb drives, but there are also a number of free programs for Windows 7 and XP users.

If you use social network sites such as Facebook, you can make sure they are secure as well. Take a minute to review your social network security and privacy settings.  Maybe change your password to something more difficult to crack.

Do you have a backup plan?  Do you actually follow through with the plan?  If you are like me, you usually forget to backup your important data.  Sign up for online backup, and you don’t have to worry!  We here at ICS offer a great online backup solution, but there are numerous others to choose from.

Update your router and wireless password.  If your existing router is more than 3 years old, it probably does not have the best security and firewall settings available.  Since a new router will cost you around $50, and will give you much better performance and security, it is worth the upgrade.  That is also the perfect time to choose a more complex password for your wireless connection.

For power users, you can use OpenDNS to filter the internet.  It is designed to block not only inappropriate sites, but also sites that spread viruses and other malicious threats.  Best of all, the basic service is free, and you can use it on a single computer or an entire network.

Of course, these are just a few suggestions, and they may not apply to your situation.  The point is, to take a quick look at all aspects of your digital life and make sure you are secure.  So for the next month, every time you use a digital device, or use a password protected site or service, double check the security settings and consider changing your password.  Some day you may thank me for it.  If you decide not to follow my suggestions… we are open Monday to Friday, and would be happy to fix whatever problems may arise.