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Ringing in the new year with new resolutions? Why not add a few cyber security resolutions to your list.

  • Slim down on your shared information: What are you sharing online? If it’s items like the city you were born in, the year you graduated high school, or even a post about your pet, you may be sharing a little too much. The more of your personal information that is out there, the easier it is for bad actors to retrieve it and cause damage to your online accounts or credit score.
  • Sign up for credit monitoring: Speaking of credit scores, you can sign up for credit monitoring. These services alert users when credit application has been made in your name, alert about large transactions, credit limit increases and changes to personal information. Setting up these alerts can let you know if your data is at risk right away.
  • Shred documents you no longer need: Shredding old documents is an excellent way to make sure that sensitive information does not get out. This process makes documents irreparable and can protect your identity while also helping declutter the house.
  • Secure your passwords: Passwords need to be long and complex, with special characters and numbers added. An eight-character password only takes a hacker about 37 seconds to crack, but doubling the characters takes 119 years to unlock. Make sure you aren’t reusing your passwords for multiple accounts, and don’t save your passwords in a browser.