3 Ways To Protect Your Money From Hackers With Devin Kropp Part 1 #45
You are accustomed to hearing me talk about investing your money and making smart decisions with your finances but today is going to be a little different - we will be talking about protecting yourself from hackers. Do you have a safe and secure approach when it comes to your passwords and digital assets? How easy would it be for someone to hack your information?
Here to share some helpful insights and specifically, three ways to protect your money and digital assets from hackers is my guest, Devin Kropp.
Devin first experienced the shock associated with identity theft as an 11-year-old in 2002. Just before Christmas, hackers stole her father's debit card information and sold it to a thief in Spain, who drained several thousand dollars from the account.
As a millennial, she's a digital native. She started computer classes in elementary school, received her first PC in the fifth grade, and participated in one of the nation's first e-learning experiments equipping students with laptops. Devin is a graduate of Binghamton University (SUNY) where she studied English and journalism, and played wing and scrum-half for the Women's Rugby Club. She joined Horsesmouth in 2013 as an associate editor. Devin lives in Manhattan.
I can’t wait for you to hear from Devin’s fascinating insights - you don’t want to miss it!
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You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...
Cybersecurity dangers and solutions with Devin Kropp [1:15]
How one man hacked his friend’s bank account with information found online [4:00]
Securing your password from hackers [6:15]
An identity theft horror story with Gmail [9:00]
Two-factor authentication [11:00]
The value of using a password manager [13:00]
Is free public Wi-Fi secure? What about a VPN? [15:00]
Be smart with your passwords
Is your password safe? Unfortunately, too many people assume that no one would be able to guess their password when in reality, they are using a common one that is easy to guess. According to NordPass, the top five most common passwords in 2020 were:
123456
123456789
picture1
password
12345678
If your password is on the list, it's probably time to make a change.
Try to avoid using dictionary words, predictable number combinations, or strings of adjacent keyboard combinations. And this should go without saying -- but under no circumstances should you use a password-based on any personal details like your phone number, birth date, or name. To hear more from Devin about passwords and additional steps you can take to protect yourself from hackers, make sure to listen to this episode.
Better safe than sorry
If you are ready to really take control of your digital security, Devin suggests taking the next step and start using a password manager. There are a ton of helpful services out there that will help you manage your passwords for free or for a small fee - Devin also suggests opting for the paid version of these programs. While you are taking extra steps to safeguard your privacy, you should reconsider your faith in public Wi-Fi networks as they are often a hotbed for hackers. To hear Devin expand on VPNs, password managers, and so much more - tune into this episode!