It's easy to accidentally give away too much information online. Read our top 10 tips to make sure your private data doesn't get into the wrong hands and stays secure.

1. Clear Books Must reads | January 2015
10 ways to keep your
online data secure
Making sure your online data is safe has never been more important.
Over half (51%) of respondents to a recent survey, said they had been
the victim of some form of cybercrime including fraud, identity theft and
hacking — leading to losses of over £670 million per year.

2. Clear Books Must reads | January 2015
1. Monitor your social media
privacy settings:
It’s easy to accidentally reveal too much on social
media. Your date of birth, where and when
you’re going on holiday or pictures of the really
expensive computer you recently bought can all
be a goldmine for potential scammers or thieves.
Spend a few minutes updating your privacy
settings to make sure you’re not giving away more
than you would like.
2. Set up two email addresses:
No matter how few companies you give your email
address out to, you can’t be sure where it’ll end up.
If you’ve received an email that doesn’t look quite
right never click on the links. It’s a good idea to
have two email addresses: one for private emails
(banking, social media, friends and family) and one
for promotional emails — making it easier to spot
anything unusual.
At Clear Books we ensure your data is stored safely in our cloud and regularly evaluate and enhance our
security features so you can rest easy that your information is safe. Here are some other tips for keeping
your data secure and preventing your personal information from getting into the wrong hands:
3. Use a password keeper:
Using the same password everywhere is one of
the most dangerous things you can do online —
especially if it’s ‘password123’. When creating a
password use a combination of letters, numbers
and symbols and try not to use recognisable words.
They can be a pain to keep track of but services
like https://lastpass.com/ or https://clipperz.is/
can securely remember them for you. However if
you forget that password they really will be gone
forever.
Data security

3. Clear Books Must reads | January 2015
4. Be careful with public wi-fi networks:
If you log on to a public wi-fi network in your local cafe, pub or train station, hackers can find out all sorts
of personal information within a few moments, for example: https://medium.com/matter/heres-why-
public-wifi-is-a-public-health-hazard-dd5b8dcb55e6. If you do use public wi-fi make sure your settings are
secure and always make sure you know who owns the network. Here are more tips to stay safe:
http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2014/11/18/stay-safe-public-wi-fi-networks,
6. Protect your system:
To prevent unwanted traffic, the very first thing you
should do is enable the firewall on your operating
system.You should also install anti-virus software
which ‘patrols’ your computer by constantly
checking for threats and suspicious activity. Make
sure you also install all available updates for
your operating system and programmes, further
reducing the risk of being hacked or loopholes
being exploited.
7. Back up everything:
In case of fire or your hard drive crashing you need
to make sure that all of your files are backed up
elsewhere. Cloud services including Clear Books
keep your information safe in an external data
centre where your information is encrypted for
added protection. You can also use an external
hard drive or your own personal server. Make sure
you enable encryption on these devices and check
the security features of any cloud service you use.
If you’re asked to submit sensitive information
such as passwords or payment details make
sure the site is secure. You can verify if the site is
safe by checking that the url begins with ‘https://’
and looking for the padlock icon in the address
bar at the top of your screen.
5. Check for a secure connection:

4. Clear Books Must reads | January 2015
8. Be cautious with USB sticks:
Be cautious with USB sticks: With cloud sharing
becoming more prevalent, the need for USBs is
decreasing. If you do need to use one then avoid:
sharing, storing sensitive information, or giving
them away. USBs are also an easy way for viruses
to be installed on your system without your
knowledge.This article goes into more detail:
http://www.wired.com/2014/07/usb-security/
They’re also very easy to lose.
10. Be shady yourself:
Other simple tricks to reduce online risk
include: browsing in incognito or private mode
or even using anonymous browser Tor; taking
advantage of websites that let you check out as an
anonymous guest; and providing fake information
to security questions like ‘what’s your mother’s
maiden name?’ — just make sure you remember
the false answer yourself.
9. Secure empty your trash:
Have you ever wondered where your deleted
items actually go? Well, the answer is — nowhere.
They’re just ‘marked for trash’.The file doesn’t
move even when you empty your trash; it gets
gradually overwritten by other files but is still
recoverable. Macs have a built in ‘secure empty’
option which actively overwrites the file with
zeros. If you use a PC, apps such as Eraser can
perform this function.
We hope this factsheet has been helpful
to you. If you have any questions about
how we at Clear Books ensure the safety
of your data, just give our support team a
call on +44 (0)20 3475 4744 or email:
support@clearbooks.co.uk