Top tips to avoid being a hacker’s hero

Social media - Don’t fill in the personal details, like age, email address and phone numbers, sites like Facebook want you to unless you have to. There was a customer who was hacked ultimately because he said he was financial director at a named company on Facebook. Hackers accessed his account by guessing his email and password, using information gleaned from his social profiles. Social privacy - check your Facebook pages and posts have the highest privacy settings. They are initially open by default. Facebook help sections have handy tips.

Email - Use a variety of email accounts for different things. If you have linked an email address to social media, do not use this address for things like online banking. Passwords - Consider password vault software like LastPass to keep your passwords secure. Never let your web browser ‘remember’ your passwords Search for Password strength calculators like howsecureismypassword.net to assess the integrity of your passwords, in conjunction with password vaults. Never put your password in them, use a similar one to test. Be alert - If you receive a bank letter asking you to call them, verify the number through the bank’s official website.