Archives - Personally Identifiable Information


Turn off information storage on your browser

Many computer users take advantage of the convenience of saving credentials into your browser so you don’t have to enter them repeatedly. This lets you instantly fill out credit card numbers and personal information across all websites. However, all this data is stored in your browser, meaning a criminal can potentially access it. A far […]

Don’t get rid of a hard drive without really erasing it

When you remove something on your computer hard drive, it’s not really gone, just inaccessible through the normal user interface. To really get rid of it, you’ll need specialized software that overwrites the deleted data multiple times. Also, keeping your old drives in storage instead of throwing or giving them away will also lower your […]

Your computer security is important

Computers are an indispensable part of our daily lives. It’s imperative to correctly configure your home computer before linking it to the internet to keep it, and your personal information protected. Because computers play such important roles in our lives, and because we enter and view so much personally identifiable information (PII) on them, it’s […]

Look out for requests to update your personal information

The majority of organizations – banks, universities, companies, etc. – will not ask for your personal information over email. Do not reveal personally identifiable information online such as your full name, social security number, telephone number, address, insurance policy number, credit card information, or doctor’s name. Don’t open attachments, click on links, or respond to […]

Don’t send sensitive personal data with standard email

There’s no undoing an email (with limited exceptions if you’re in an Microsoft Exchange environment). Plus, email security is not as strong as you might expect, especially if you aren’t using email encryption. For these reasons, never give out your personal identifiable information in an email.

Beware of sharing personally identifiable information

Whether you’re a business or a consumer, it’s important to keep personally identifiable information (PII) secure. PII is any type of data that could be used to identify, locate or contact an individual, such as name, date of birth or place of residence. PII is often targeted by hackers because it can be sold for […]