I’m starting to enjoy these releases from Identity Finder; whoever is writing them is hooking me properly with their top 10 security tip lists. This one concerns ways to protect your identity while on the job, and it should be especially useful for the younger members of the summer job-force.

Can you add any other job security tips to their list?

TOP 10 SECURITY TIPS TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT AT YOUR FIRST JOB THIS SUMMER

Over a million college graduates and students will be starting a new job or internship this summer.  Most of them will receive their first company computer and with that comes a brand new set of responsibilities they never considered.   One of those responsibilities is preventing the theft of sensitive company data and their own personal information. Every two seconds an American has their identity stolen and over 277,000,000 data records of US residents have been exposed to date, due to security breaches.

Protecting a corporate computer helps you prevent your own identity theft as well as safeguard your company from unfortunate data leakage incidents.  “Parents teach us to ‘look both ways before crossing the street’ but most of us didn’t grow up hearing, ‘make sure your password contains a number’ or  ‘install the latest service pack,’” says Todd Feinman, CEO of Identity Finder, LLC — a company whose software helps prevent both of these problems. Identity Finder here provides ten simple tips to help you protect your computer at work:

1.       Your password is a form of your identity and can be used to access your computer and all the information on it.  Make sure it is at least seven characters, contains numbers, and upper and lowercase letters.  Do not simply pick a word from the dictionary (or your name!) and add a number.
2.       Peer-to-peer file sharing programs may allow people to access your company’s data and steal personal and private information.  Configure these programs not to expose personal folders.
3.       Microsoft releases Windows fixes weekly or monthly.  Always update your computer as soon as possible after they are released and never wait more than a full month.  These fixes plug holes that hackers know how to exploit to gain access to your files.
4.       If you set up a wireless network in your home or office, make sure to use the security features to prevent people from joining.  If they do join, it is easier to gain access to your computer.
5.       Don’t leave your laptop unattended at the bar or coffee shop.  Hundreds of thousands of laptops are stolen each year!
6.       Don’t purchase anything online with your credit card unless the website is secured with SSL as indicated by a padlock in your web browser.
7.       Don’t click on email messages that contain hyperlinks to websites.  Close the email and type the website address in manually. Phishing attacks are increasingly common and attempt to trick you into visiting false websites to steal your personal information.
8.       Never enter private company information on public computers such as in a hotel, library, or at school. These systems may be infected with a keylogger or spyware capturing everything you type.
9.       Never email or instant message private company information. Those communications are usually not secure and can be listened in upon by other people.
10.   Make sure you don’t store any personal or confidential information on your computer unsecured.  (You can run the free trial of Identity Finder from www.identityfinder.com to see what private information is unsecured and vulnerable to identity thieves, if they access your computer.)

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This has been a good email morning! I love finding interesting new gadgets waiting in my inbox, and the Yoggie Gatekeeper Card Pro definitely piqued my curiosity. What is it?

A full-blown computer with its own processor, memory and hardened operating system, this computer within a computer is simple to install yet provides the most advanced security protection on the market.

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This list was sent in by Identity Finder, along with the information following. I don’t normally post articles written by PR agencies (unless they are noted on Gear Diary as press releases), but this one really does have a lot of relevant information in this time of rampant identity theft and online shenanigans. Anyone that uses their computer for online monetary transactions would do well to pay attention to these tips…

1. When storing a copy of your tax return on your computer, make sure you secure it with a password so that your SSN cannot be read if the file is lost.

2. Securely delete all electronic, financial documents used to prepare your tax returns so any personal information is safe.

3. Ignore all refund/rebate/warning emails claiming to come from the IRS and never click on links within those emails because it is most likely a phishing attack.

4. Do not provide personal information to anyone calling you claiming to be from the IRS; the IRS already has your information and it’s likely to be an identity thief calling you.

5. Check your credit report with one of the three credit bureaus for free every four months at www.annualcreditreport.com to make sure your identity hasn’t already been stolen.

6. Install the latest updates to your operating system so known Windows or Mac vulnerabilities can’t be exploited by hackers.

7. Don’t save your password in your web browser when accessing banks and other institutions that
keep your personal information because it could be leaked if you ever get a virus, Trojan, or are hacked.

8. If you provided your bank account and routing information to the IRS for payment or refunds,
check your bank accounts to ensure the proper transfer occurred.

9. Visit your bank account online and set up alerts on your accounts to monitor when high amounts of cash are withdrawn.

10. Make sure you do not receive incorrect payment liability or refund information; a thief could have filed a tax return on your behalf fraudulently. If you suspect tax preparation fraud, call the State Tax Department toll-free at 1-888-675-9437.

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