Stay online smart in 2013

When we’re all running a mile a minute, we could find ourselves making decisions that are not the best for our online lives. What do I mean about that? Well, it’s something we at Norton see every year. Consumers get wrapped up in the excitement of the holiday season, they lose their better judgment a little bit.

We call one phenomenon “Newphoria” – that feeling you get when you take that new tech toy out of the box and start playing with it, without really thinking too much about what you’re doing. We know this holiday season tech toys, like tablets and smartphones, were on many wish lists, so we want to remind people that just because you’re taking a device fresh out of a box, it is not completely secure. Think of buying online security for all these connected devices and install it right away. You wouldn’t drive a new car without a seat belt, right?

One New Year’s resolution could be to chat with our children about the way they use social media. Social media channels are obvious platforms to share our excitement about any upcoming trips and leaving behind an empty home. Our children should be especially discreet with these online announcements to make sure they are not putting your household in a vulnerable position. It’s important that we talk to our kids about what information they share online and why some information should not be broadcasted to their networks. 

When you’re out and about, you might feel the need to connect to wi-fi hotspots. Public wi-fi can be an easy way for cybercriminals to access your personal information. Let’s be cautious of the sites we visit and try avoiding online banking or using your credit card information until we’re logged on to a secure connection.  

So be safe, be secure and have a cyber safe New Year.

Lynn Hargrove is the Director of Consumer Solutions for Symantec Canada.