Take these steps today to help ensure you are keeping your home and all your high-tech gadgets safe.

Guard your home’s Wi-Fi network

Make sure your home’s wireless network is protected. Start by using the Wi-Fi Protected Access III — or WPA3, if available — protocol and having a strong password. Also, assign your network a random name that makes sense only to you.

Create a separate Service Set Identifier, or SSID, and password for guests

This allows your guests to get online, while reducing the chances their devices might infect your home network with malware or a virus.

Use strong passwords

Whenever possible, use a passphrase made up of at least 12 characters, but ideally 16 or more. When using hard to guess passphrases of 16 characters or more and two-factor (AKA, multifactor or two-step) authentication, password complexity (numbers and special characters) and frequently changing your passwords are not as critical.

Research before you buy

Do a little homework to make sure the device you want to buy does not have any reported security and privacy issues. If you do buy a device, keep the software up to date with manufacturers’ fixes or patches.

Keep your personal data safe

Add these steps to better protect your personal information and reduce the chances of a data breach, an incident where your personal information has been exposed to the public: 

• Enable the strongest authentication tools available, such as biometrics, security keys or a unique one-time passcode through an app on your phone. 
• Safely destroy confidential papers. Paper shredding is the safest way to dispose of confidential and personal documents containing personal information. Many communities offer these throughout the year.

When it comes to your smart devices and digital presence, stay smart and stay safe!