So many cautionary tales exist about people whose identities have been stolen with dire consequences. And we are all concerned about certain people who shall remain nameless (but whose name begins with Elon and ends with Musk) who now have access to our Social Security, IRS, and other data. Take care of your online identity.

I is for Identity

Use strong passwords and change them regularly. Do not use the same password on multiple sites.

Oh, I know the problem here. Every damn site needs a password and my brain is already full of other stuff—important stuff like where I put my car keys and why I just walked all the way downstairs.

Managing LogIn Info

I use Norton Identity Safe which stores my passwords and automatically fills in forms when I am online. Many other password managers exist. Here is an article describing some of them. None are free.

The benefit of Norton is that I also get my virus protection and other security features, so this works for me. I’ve been using them for years with no problems—except for a few issues, which were probably user error. I do recommend them, but there are others just as good.

I also keep my login info in an Excel spreadsheet. At the moment, this sheet is on OneDrive for easy access, but I’m thinking it will soon reside on a thumb drive, which is protected so that no one can get into it but me—not on the Cloud. I will never not want a copy of this info, which is totally under my control. I update it myself whenever I change info, and I try to weed out the old ones on a regular basis. If you don’t trust online password managers like Norton, then this is the best option, and one I think you should do no matter what.

The advantage is that with this easily accessible list, I can copy and paste whenever I need to use login info, and I always have this copy available even if I stop using Norton or if I am on a different computer.

Change passwords frequently. I’d say every 6 months at a minimum. Go for at least 13 characters, lower case, upper case, special characters, and numerals. Not just a word where the letter O is replaced with a zero.

It’s a pain, but use two-factor identification for important sites like the bank and credit cards.

Check your records often to make sure no weird charges or withdrawals suddenly pop up.

Do Not use public computers or servers for anything financial. This can be difficult if you don’t have wi-fi at home, but try to find a friend who does and make sure their system is safe.

Shred or burn sensitive documents. Do Not just toss them in the trash. I live in the country, so I have a stove, a furnace, and a fire pit where I get rid of anything with my name and address on it. I cut off labels from packages before I recycle, and I tear off the address on the magazine covers.

Most browsers have the option to save your login info and will fill in the blanks for you when you use that browser. This is probably fine, but your info is in their data banks. Be aware of that. You can download it so you have a copy, but if they have a data breach, your info may be compromised. If you make a practice of changing your login info often and keep an eye on your accounts, using this service is probably ok. They do have security, and they do their best to protect the information, but it is still out there. Just be aware of that.

Update your software often. Software providers often add security for new threats, so you want to have that.

Beware of Phishing. NEVER click on a link in an email from an unfamiliar source.

 If you get an email with warnings of impending doom from someone claiming to be your bank, your credit card provider, or anyone you do business with, check the return address.

If it is not a corporate address, do not reply. A corporate address will include the company name at the end—Info@att.com or info@amazon.com, for example–Go to the company website and use their contact form to ask a question about the issue.

It’s possible to protect your identity without being totally paranoid, but you aren’t paranoid because they really are trying to get your info. Be proactive when it comes to identity protection—especially in this political climate!