Find out the best way to manage your password, destroy files, find out if you’ve been hacked and more.

Manage your passwords

Rememberng dozens of unique passwords is hard work and, chances are, the more of them you try to commit to memory the less secure each password will be. With password managers such as LastPass, all of your passwords are stored in a ‘vault’ protected by a single master password. Extremely strong passwords can be generated for each site you use. Click on a password field and allow LastPass to detect if you have a password stored for that site. The software is easy to use and considerably more secure than manually creating passwords. 

Destroying your files

Sending your files to the ‘trash’ doesn’t actually get rid of them. Most of the time, the file is simply moved from one place to another and can be retrieved with simple forensic software. If you want to truly dispose of your files, 'shred' them by overriding the file with other data. If someone attempts to recover the file, they’ll get nothing meaningful.

If you’re a Windows user, a good place to start is Eraser. This easy-to-use software will significantly improve your personal security. If you want to shred a file, right-click it and select ‘erase’. An easy way to shred Mac files is with software like Clean My Mac 3.

Discover if you’ve been hacked

Checking whether your email has been hacked is as easy as clicking on Have I Been Pwned? The database includes hundreds of millions of leaked accounts from years of hacks from across the globe. Simply type in your username or email address and the site will tell you if your username/email has been part of a data breach.

You can also sign up for an immediate notification if your email address or username show up in any future data breaches. Bear in mind though, that the service isn’t 100% reliable because many breaches are not made public. It helps to always use a strong password, try not to give your address and phone number information away unless you really have to, and use temporary email addresses and usernames whenever possible.

Shield your phone from snooping

Cell phones emit radio waves that reveal your location. Special bags block these waves and stop people getting to your cell through a WiFi network and snooping around. They are lined with a Faraday Bag, a conductive wire mesh that blocks external electric fields and other electromagnetic nuisances. They are perfect for traveling when you don’t want to use public WiFi.

Generating one-time email addresses

If you are signing up to a site that requires email verification, you may not want to provide your real email address to ensure your data is not compromised in a hack. Your email address is often linked to other, more sensitive information, like passwords, phone numbers, phone addresses, and credit cards.

‍10minutemail.com has come up with a solution, a temporary email service that sets you up with a random address that you can use to receive, open and send emails. After 10 minutes, your new email address self-destructs. No need to worry about your real email address ending up in the wrong hands although it may be wise to change to your regular email address after the initial sign-up if you intend to use the site on a regular basis.

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