{"id":3173,"date":"2016-11-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/otava.test\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/"},"modified":"2016-11-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-17T00:00:00","slug":"how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to protect your data: Four simple steps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-16987\" src=\"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg\" alt=\"Cybersecurity of network of connected devices and personal data security\" width=\"350\" height=\"248\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As technology\u00a0gets more complex and ingrained into our lives, studies have shown consumers are increasingly feeling overwhelmed about how to protect themselves. Since criminals are getting more sophisticated, we have to as well, right?<\/p>\n<p>Not so. The reason we feel overwhelmed isn&#8217;t\u00a0always because of the levels we have to go to in order to protect ourselves, it\u2019s because we have more devices we need to protect. Most consumers trust that the IoT products they buy are being built with security in mind, when that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/a63b2de8-992c-11e6-8f9b-70e3cabccfae\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not\u00a0always<\/a>\u00a0the case. Cyber criminals are taking advantage of this and launching millions of attacks <a href=\"https:\/\/otavawebsite.wpengine.com\/blog\/what-caused-the-internet-to-break-on-friday-oct-21-2016\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">every day<\/a>. But there are simple steps you can take to secure your devices to\u00a0help protect you against attacks. So, let\u2019s get back to basics!<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Change your default passwords. <\/strong>Many devices such as routers and security cameras\u00a0come equipped with award-winning passwords as \u201cadmin1234\u201d or even \u201cpassword.\u201d If these or similar ones are your current passwords for anything at all, change them. Immediately. Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols. If you\u2019re feeling devoid of ideas, think of a phrase and revert to your early texting days by replacing some of the letters with symbols or numbers (ie \u201cgreat\u201d turns into \u201cgR8\u201d). Go\u00a0a step further and enable <a href=\"https:\/\/otavawebsite.wpengine.com\/reference\/two-factor-authentication-for-vpn-login-faq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two-factor authentication<\/a> to provide an additional layer of security for your accounts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep your passwords separate and unique.<\/strong> Let\u2019s face it, most of us have trouble remembering even one password, let alone six or seven. And making them complicated on top of that? But when you discover your email, social media, banking accounts, work email and medical information stolen at once when you only have one or two passwords, you might change your tune. Keep your passwords separate so that if you lose one, you don\u2019t have to change every account. If you have trouble remembering them, write them down on a piece of paper and store it someplace safe, or use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/article2\/0,2817,2475964,00.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">password manager<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Treat public WiFi networks with skepticism.<\/strong> Is that really <a href=\"https:\/\/lifehacker.com\/5906233\/do-i-really-need-to-be-that-worried-about-security-when-im-using-public-wi-fi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">necessary<\/a>? Yes. Most public WiFi networks aren\u2019t natively secure, and sharing a network with tons of people is an open invitation for strangers to peek at\u00a0your data. After all, a coffee shop\u2019s first priority probably isn&#8217;t the security of its network. Think of working off a public network as having someone looking over your shoulder the entire time you\u2019re working and who can also see your passwords as plain text. If you absolutely must send those emails while you\u2019re drinking your latte, connect to a VPN\u2014there are many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncp-e.com\/en\/products\/ipsec-vpn-client-suite\/vpn-clients-for-windows-10-8-7-os-x\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clients<\/a> available.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Back up your data, regularly.<\/strong> \u201cThe best made plans of mice and men are often laid to waste,\u201d as the saying typically goes. When your computer crashes for whatever reason, having a copy of your data handy is a relief of immense\u00a0magnitude. Follow the 3-2-1 rule: Three copies of data, on two different media, with one being offsite. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onlinetech.com\/products\/offsite-backup-and-recovery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Offsite backup<\/a> is critically important\u2014some strains of <a href=\"https:\/\/otavawebsite.wpengine.com\/blog\/what-is-ransomware-and-how-do-you-protect-against-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ransomware<\/a>\u00a0and other malware have been known to infect network backups, making them useless. If you use offsite backup such as an external hard drive, make sure you unplug it when you\u2019re done so it doesn\u2019t become infected while you\u2019re not using it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There are more steps you can take to protect yourself from cyber criminals, but the above listed are simple, basic ways to keep your data protected. It sounds overwhelming to keep track of and protect each of the devices we use every day, but the benefits far outweigh the risk. Help keep yourself safe by going back to basics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As technology\u00a0gets more complex and ingrained into our lives, studies have shown consumers are increasingly feeling overwhelmed about how to protect themselves. Since criminals are getting more sophisticated, we have to as well, right? Not so. The reason we feel overwhelmed isn&#8217;t\u00a0always because of the levels we have to go to in order to protect ourselves, it\u2019s because we have more devices we need to protect. Most consumers trust that the IoT products they buy are being built with security in mind, when that\u2019s not\u00a0always\u00a0the case. Cyber criminals are taking advantage of this and launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to secure your devices to\u00a0help protect you against attacks. So, let\u2019s get back to basics! Change your default passwords. Many devices such as routers and security cameras\u00a0come equipped with award-winning passwords as \u201cadmin1234\u201d or even \u201cpassword.\u201d If these or similar ones are your current passwords for anything at all, change them. Immediately. Use a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols. If you\u2019re feeling devoid of ideas, think of a phrase and revert to your early texting days by replacing some of the letters with symbols or&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"other_category":[],"class_list":["post-3173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to protect your data: Four simple steps | OTAVA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cyber criminals are launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to protect your data and your business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to protect your data: Four simple steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cyber criminals are launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to protect your data and your business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OTAVA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irma Brillantes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irma Brillantes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Irma Brillantes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35774075f8f4fcdd4eae80cb72034263\"},\"headline\":\"How to protect your data: Four simple steps\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\"},\"wordCount\":627,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\",\"name\":\"How to protect your data: Four simple steps | OTAVA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Cyber criminals are launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to protect your data and your business.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to protect your data: Four simple steps\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/\",\"name\":\"OTAVA\u00ae\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"OTAVA\u00ae\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/otava-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/otava-logo.svg\",\"caption\":\"OTAVA\u00ae\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35774075f8f4fcdd4eae80cb72034263\",\"name\":\"Irma Brillantes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5251bebc1699793a698d1a6158603cb3cdc50a095a12357e42d415b3e5546c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5251bebc1699793a698d1a6158603cb3cdc50a095a12357e42d415b3e5546c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5251bebc1699793a698d1a6158603cb3cdc50a095a12357e42d415b3e5546c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Irma Brillantes\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/author\/ibrillantesotava-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to protect your data: Four simple steps | OTAVA","description":"Cyber criminals are launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to protect your data and your business.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to protect your data: Four simple steps","og_description":"Cyber criminals are launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to protect your data and your business.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/","og_site_name":"OTAVA","article_published_time":"2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Irma Brillantes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Irma Brillantes","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/"},"author":{"name":"Irma Brillantes","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35774075f8f4fcdd4eae80cb72034263"},"headline":"How to protect your data: Four simple steps","datePublished":"2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/"},"wordCount":627,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/","url":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/","name":"How to protect your data: Four simple steps | OTAVA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg","datePublished":"2016-11-17T00:00:00+00:00","description":"Cyber criminals are launching millions of attacks every day. But there are simple steps you can take to protect your data and your business.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/otava.test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/data-protection-blog-post-11.18.16-113916218.jpeg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/how-to-protect-your-data-four-simple-steps\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to protect your data: Four simple steps"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/","name":"OTAVA\u00ae","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#organization","name":"OTAVA\u00ae","url":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/otava-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/otava-logo.svg","caption":"OTAVA\u00ae"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/#\/schema\/person\/35774075f8f4fcdd4eae80cb72034263","name":"Irma Brillantes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5251bebc1699793a698d1a6158603cb3cdc50a095a12357e42d415b3e5546c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5251bebc1699793a698d1a6158603cb3cdc50a095a12357e42d415b3e5546c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d5251bebc1699793a698d1a6158603cb3cdc50a095a12357e42d415b3e5546c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Irma Brillantes"},"url":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/blog\/author\/ibrillantesotava-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3173"},{"taxonomy":"other_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otava.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/other_category?post=3173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}