Everyday, it seems, I hear stories from customers about how they were hacked. Over the past year the level of the hacks escalates from one story to the next. I heard the worst last week from a customer whose identity was stolen and her personal assets used to make purchases.

Here’s the basic rules everyone should follow to prevent the misfortune and frustration of being hacked.

1. Do not use operating systems for online transactions that are no longer supported. Windows users should not use anything older than 7 and Apple users should not use 10.11 or older. Browsers and virus prevention software typically stop updating themselves on these older systems.
2. Unless you see HTTPS preceding what should be a secure web address do not type anything you wouldn’t tell me. In other words, do not enter social security numbers, dollar amounts bank account information or credit card numbers. Any of this information can be used to steal your identity.
3. Passwords should be 10 characters long and include a capital letter, symbol, numbers and letters. Although I’m guilty of making my passwords somewhat logical, try not to use words. Instead of using something like “Toyota1@” scramble it up and use “t0Yo1@”. Even though there’s fewer characters in my second example the password will be much more difficult to decipher with software.
4. Challenge questions should not be the actual answers. Anyone who has access to websites like truepeoplesearch.com can answer basic questions about my past. Instead of the actual street you grew up on or your grandfather’s name, you should use retired passwords or nonsensical words to make gaining access to your personal accounts more difficult.
5. Websites are constantly asking to save credit card and payment information for your convenience. Even though it may be encrypted on their server, there’s still a chance someone can access this information and use it for no good. Do not save your payment information on any website.
6. Portable devices like laptops, tablets and cell phones contain vital information about you and many times retain passwords. It’s a very good idea not to store or save passwords on any device. Though it may seem convenient to automatically log into Amazon with one click, anyone with access to your device can do the same.
7. Public access internet cafes are truly public access. It’s very easy for someone with network access to intercept data you share over the network and use it for no good. Though the information may be somewhat scrambled, anyone with some basic free software can decipher the data.
8. Modern devices have the ability to use two factor authentication that adds one more level of security. Earlier this year I talked to a woman whose thumb was used to access her phone when she was sleeping. Two factor authentication would have required a password as well as her fingerprint making a data breach nearly impossible.

(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)