Protecting your Privacy at Home

Privacy breaches are becoming more common.  We ended 2013 with a major breach at Target, Neiman Marcus, Michael's and Sally Beauty; a hacker group compromised 250,000 twitter accounts in 2013;  Facebook revealed that a bug had exposed 6 million users' personal data between 2012 and 2013;  New York announced that millions of their resident's records were exposed over a period beginning 8 years prior in 2014; and PF Changs revealed a breach that affected customers in 16 states who used credit and debit cards in the stores in 2013 and 2014.  I could go on.  We get it, our information isn't being handled by the organizations we patronize.  I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you might be guilty of not protecting your information too.

Your home holds a treasure trove of data (credit card data, banking information, work related information, tax records, etc.) that may not be properly protected.   A savvy intruder might be able to get in and leave with nothing more than his camera full of information or even a handful of statements from your filing cabinet that you might never miss.

We all must protect our information.  A few things to consider:

Keep a shredder near the place where you sort your mail.   If you still receive paper bills consider purchasing a cross-cut shredder to shred mail that you do not need to keep long term.  I shred envelopes with my name on them.  I usually shred just my name unless I get a letter from a relative, then the whole envelope goes through.  Shred anything that someone else could use to piece together information about you. 

Purchase a home safe.  We all have documents that we must retain (birth certificates, documents related a major purchase, education information, etc).   These documents must be safe from unauthorized access and unintentional destruction (water, fire, etc.).  Storing these documents in a locked fire-proof safe that is bolted to the wall or floor will provide you peace of mind.  Store the key someplace that is not obvious and not near the safe.

Create and use a password on your home computer.   Regardless of whether you have a laptop or desktop, create and use a password.  Don't leave the computer on unless you log off.  (You can configure it to log you off after X number of minutes if you don't want to remember to press Windows + L.)  Create a good password, don't use "Password", your name or something that could be easily guessed.

Evaluate the information stored on your computer.  Think hard about the information you might have on your home computer.  Do you routinely store your tax information on your computer?  How about password lists?  Do you store any documents that list your social security number?  Evaluate what you have stored on the computer and delete anything you don't want exposed.  It might be a fun exercise to review the documents, spreadsheets and images on your computer.

Secure your Internet access.  Every broadband connection should be protected with a hardware router that is properly configured.  RTFM (read the friendly manual) or even search YouTube.  Many router manufacturers have made the installation simple for anyone who can read.  Don't just plug the device in - read ALL the words.  Write down the admin password you create and put it in a safe place.  Be sure that your WiFi password is complex (with upper and lower case, special characters and numbers) and use WPA2.  I've heard interesting conversations about neighbors who leave their WiFi networks wide open.  Don't do it, even if someone tells you it's fine.  It's NOT!

Know your neighbors.  It's amazing how many people don't know their neighbors.  Get to know them and invite them to get to know you.  Watch out for each other.  Exchange email addresses or phone numbers for a lifeline in an emergency and so you can keep an eye out for unusual activity.

Check your credit report and consider locking down your credit.  Experian, Trans Union and Equifax must provide you an annual credit report when requested.  Space out your requests so that you get a report every 4 months.  Consider getting a credit monitoring service or locking down your credit.  It's a huge pain to lock down your credit but it might save you from an expensive and heartbreaking experience.

Consumers cannot protect themselves from the bad business practices at the organizations they patronize but we can protect the information we store in our homes.