Tips for Maintaining Better Online Security

Being mindful of where and how your personal data is used online can help prevent unwanted attempts by cybercriminals to access it. The following are best practices for keeping your online information and accounts secure.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Always use strong passwords: A good password should contain a combination of numbers, capital and lower-case letters, and symbols.
Only visit secure websites: A website URL (Uniform Resource Locator) beginning with ‘https’ is safer than a web address with ‘http’ as the letter ‘s’ stands for secure.
Keep your personal details private: Finding dates of birth, email addresses, and details about your family on social media can make it easier for cybercriminals to guess your passwords.
Use legitimate software: Only download applications and programs through official websites. Otherwise, you risk downloading a malicious program.
Shop online with credit vs. debit cards: Debit cards are linked to your checking, savings, or money market accounts, which can make it more difficult to recover stolen funds. Credit cards offer more fraud protection when making purchases online.
Use multi-factor authentication: If available, secure your accounts by setting up two-step verification through an authenticator that will require a code sent to your phone in addition to entering your password when logging in.
Be aware of phishing scams: Whenever you receive a message, consider whether the sender is someone you know. Do not click any links in emails, texts, or other direct messages from unknown senders. You can verify senders by calling them using a known or official number. SMBC MANUBANK will never ask you for your login credentials or multi-factor authentication codes.
Keep your home network safe: Protect the security of your network by changing the name and password of the router supplied by your internet service provider.
Log out of accounts: Staying logged in can pose a risk to the security of your personal information. Many online services store your personal data and preferences using cookies. If a site experiences a data breach your information could fall into the hands of cybercriminals.