Three Tips for Improved Online Account Security

The recent meltdown of Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox and the potential threat of leaked personal information motivated me to update security settings for my key online accounts.  Throw in some free credit monitoring thanks to Target’s recent security breach, and I feel like I have a fighting chance to stay solvent this year.  Identity thieves are always looking for holes.  Here are three tips for those looking to plug the damn.

1) Change passwords early and often.  I moved away from memorized passwords many years ago.  Using a password manager like KeePass or LastPass means never having to memorize passwords, which is a good thing considering how many people use “password” as their password.  If you’re religious about using a password manager there’s little reason not to update your passwords frequently.  And of course, never use the same password twice.

2) Enable two-factor authentication (2FA).  The list of sites supporting 2FA grows daily.  Once 2FA is enabled on an account, thieves would have to have physical possession of your phone to access the account.  It’s an extra step that might get in your way, but it’s state of the consumer security art at the moment.  If you do nothing else, enable 2FA on your email accounts.  Google, Yahoo, and Hotmail/Outlook all support it a version of it.  Anyone who’s had their identity stolen will tell you that your email account is the key.  If you retain possession of it you can usually recover everything else.  Lose possession of it and your online identity is as good as gone.

3) Consider IP restriction.  An increasing number of sites and services allow you to restrict account access to certain IPs.  This is worth considering is some cases, particularly for those accounts that you will only need to access from certain locations.  I restricted access to a few key accounts to my work and home IPs, effectively locking myself (and thieves) out unless I’m connecting through my home or work networks.

It’s not easy to protect your online identity, but with diligence and a little bit of organization you can at least give thieves a reason to pass you up for easier prey.