B.C. has proclaimed Tuesday, January 28 “Data Privacy Day.”
Data Privacy Day began in the U.S. and Canada in January 2008, as an extension of “Data Protection Day” in Europe which has been around since 1981.
The provincial government is holding its 15th annual Privacy and Security Conference in Victoria from February 5 to 7.
Privacy experts say we should all take a moment to review our security settings.
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“Data Privacy Day serves as a reminder for individuals to check privacy settings on their mobile phones, web browsers and social media sites, and for organizations to ask themselves whether they really need to be collecting as much personal information as they do,” says Colin J. Bennett, political science professor at UVic.
The provincial government offers the following tips to keep your information safe:
- Be cautious about revealing info on social networks – e-mails and phone numbers can be used to figure out your password
- Only open attachments from people you know as attachments may contain software that could harm your computer
- Don’t respond to e-mails asking for personal information – legitimate companies do not do this
- Make sure your passwords are strong. Use a mix of upper and lower case letters
- Secure your wifi connection, and be cautious when using public wifi networks
- Upgrade your security – install firewalls and anti-virus, anti-spam software
- Protect your phone with a password – smartphones can hold as much or more personal information as your PC
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