How to protect yourself from hackers

There are hackers so skilled that they can break into your computer — no matter how expertly you have security set up — while fixing themselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The good news is that the really-expert hackers aren’t going to waste their time on your computer. After all, they’re doing this for a living and you’re not a rich enough target — despite your excellent collection of photos of the Grand Canyon and Aunt Vera’s recipe for pineapple upside down cake. Instead they work at breaking into huge commercial databases. That’s where the money is, after all these data banks have collected data from hundreds of thousands of home users.

And that’s another jolt of bad news for you indeed — after all, there’s nothing you can do to stop those big commercial break-ins.

If you follow the news, you already know that a break in like this isn’t uncommon — it happens to big companies, big financial institutions and even to the federal government. Once that happens, the hacker often has access to some of your personal information found in the database. It makes a person feel sort of helpless.

But there are things you can do to protect yourself from hackers who invade a database and then may have your Social Security number, your user names and perhaps — if you use the same password for everything — the password to your computer, maybe passwords to your bank accounts. So take that as the first suggestion, change your password every six months or so (three months is better but, I’ll admit, it can be a hassle).

Don’t use the same password on each site. That’s because if a hacker gets a password from one site — say the one where you talk baseball with our fans — he may try that password at your bank’s site. Many people use the same password for everything and they are riding for a fall.

Let’s talk about other ways to protect yourself from these hackers who come armed with all your personal information. I’ll have to move fast because there is a lot you can do.

Lockdown

If a hacker gets enough information to steal your identity, he quite literally owns you. It’s possible — and it sure has happened numerous times — that he could get a loan in your name if he has enough skill and enough of your personal information. But to get that loan, a credit check will be made. By freezing your credit, you can stop a crook from getting the loan. Most loans require a credit check, without one no loan, no financial trouble for you. So consider locking the ability to check your credit. Here’s how: www. clark.com/credit-freezeand-thaw-guide.

Years ago, I thought that would be inconvenient. But my family has done just that and it’s no hassle at all. It’s a sure-fire way to protect yourself.

Commercial protection

There are companies that will take on the job of protecting your credit for you – no need to freeze your credit. Most compa- HELPDESK NO. 5 nies are so confident that they can protect you that they offer a guarantee of one sort or another. So if you are the sort of person who knows in advance that you won’t go to the trouble of following all the suggestions I am making in this column, consider paying a professional to do it for you.

Here’s a review of some of the companies in that line of work. You probably have heard of LifeLock (and it is an excellent choice in my opinion) but it has competitors that also are good. You can read a comparison of these companies here: www.identitytheftlabs.com.

Monitor

It’s important to regularly check all your financial accounts to make sure something hasn’t slipped past you. So that means going online often to check credit card expenses, bank accounts, investment accounts and the like. You’ll also want to check your credit scores. If someone is tampering with your finances, it will often show up here. Many credit score services cost money, even those that say they don’t. But Credit Karma (www.creditkarma. com) actually is free and it works. I use it myself — no glitches, no hidden fees. So I recommend it.

Dual trouble for hackers

Many banks and financial institutions offer a security service called dual authentication or two-factor authentication (it’s the same thing, just two different ways of labeling it). You can read about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_ authentication. Basically it means that someone trying to log on to your account, even with a password, has to pass through a second hurdle before being able to log in. It’s a very effective way of stopping a hacker, even one who knows your user name and your password. So if the institutions you use offer it, please use it.

Credit or debit?

Avoid using a debit card. Credit card companies will let you dispute fraudulent charges. You don’t have that kind of protection with a debit card. Crooks can immediately get money from your checking account using a debit card.

If you follow my suggestions, it’ll be good news for you and bad news for hackers. It’s easy, safe and Husted recommended.