Protecting your family and your family’s privacy should be a priority for everyone. According to The Family Council, about 70% of adults want to keep their digital life private. The ‘information age’ has made it harder than ever to keep your family life private, but there are things you can do to protect your family and their privacy. Here are five ways to better protect your family’s privacy.
1. Be Careful What Photos You Post
Hands down, one of the biggest threats to your family’s privacy is the photos that you post. Posting photos of your family can invite attention that you don’t want for your family. You especially need to be careful posting pictures of your children. Unfortunately, unsavory people in this world use social media to ‘groom’ children.
Keep your social media as private as possible and think before you post pictures of your family. Of course, if you can ask permission before you post a photo of anyone, you should. Keep images private and only available to a specific audience.
2. Use Strong Passwords to Protect Your Information
In today’s world, everything is connected via the internet. According to Intel Communications, even a regular phone line can be connected to voice-over-internet protocols to save up to 50% over traditional telephone services. Everything goes through the internet today. Strong passwords can help to keep everything protected.
Wi-Fi-connected devices can be an easy way for cyber thieves to break into your data. Strong passwords and firewalls can help to protect your data. You must use a strong password that you change frequently to protect your data. Every family member should have their own passwords to Wi-Fi and devices that they are taught not to share.
3. Monitor Your Children
children must be monitored whenever they are using connected devices. Children are often tricked into giving up passwords. Children often are victims of cyber situations. Of course, protecting your children online is not only crucial because of privacy issues, but it is also important to keep them physically safe.
Supervising children online will help to improve your family’s privacy. Helping children to understand what they can and cannot do online is essential. Internet safety for your children is a great way to protect your privacy. There is software that can be installed on devices to give you more parental control.
4. Don’t Share Information With Anyone
Phishing scams can be very convincing. Cybercriminals come up with new ways to get a hold of your information every day. Stay abreast of the latest scams and don’t share your information with anyone without double-checking to ensure that the person you are dealing with is legitimate. If you get an email from your bank asking for information, contact your bank before responding.
Most legitimate businesses have checks and balances to protect their clients and do not ask for personal information online. Every business has a phone number that you should be able to call to confirm an email. Learn about the red flags that can tip you off to the legitimacy of a business.
5. Keep Travel Plans to Yourself
Don’t post travel plans on social media. According to PR Newswire, about 74% of people use their patios as a space to relax. However, getting away from it all annually is often another way people relax. If you are going out of town, don’t post about it until you get back. Criminals are on social media like everyone else and they can monitor your page to get your routine down pat and see when you are leaving town.
Family privacy is important for many reasons including security. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that will use your information and information about your family for nefarious purposes. Keeping information safe requires some planning and thoughtfulness. Learn more about how to keep your family’s information safe today.
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