#lifelock

amzn_assoc_ad_type = "banner"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_placement = "assoc_banner_placement_default"; amzn_assoc_campaigns = "amzn_vicc_cloudcam_1017"; amzn_assoc_banner_type = "category"; amzn_assoc_isresponsive = "true"; amzn_assoc_banner_id = "1J0CHGJT75D586M66602"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "kraljevicn1-20"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "c122cc4768b349b4aab7d3099b74ea1c";

As you may have been able to deduce from my previous posts I live in Australia. Australia has recently introduced mandatory data breach notifications I personally think this is great. Now as a consumer, customer or client you can be sure that there is some level of accountability post breach. 

So as more organisations work on beefing up their security to help lower the risk to you, what can you do to to stay safe?

Subscribe to breach notifications

Sign yourself and your family up for Breach notifications here are the best ones in my opinion:

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

https://www.lifelock.com/breach-detection

https://hacked-emails.com/

If you are a bit more technical you can have a go at using an API based service to take away a lot of the grunt work of manual checking. The haveibeenpwned.com api is super simple to use and apparently widely used by corporations, individuals and governments, you can find out how to use it at this link.

Don't reuse your passwords

Stop reusing passwords this is something I have been talking about for a long time I have written about it multiple times first in "how I stopped reusing my passwords and how you can too". This is really what makes breaches dangerous to you if your account is in a breach then theres a good chance that your password or an easily crackable version password is out there forever - now it doesn't take a great cognitive leap to work out that if all your passwords are different who cares if somebody has you old LinkedIn password from 3 years ago that you used once for 3 months, it's history now.

Disposable payment methods

Worried about using your card online? don't then you can buy prepaid debit cards or travel cards where you can load money onto and spend. that way worst case you can only loose the limited amount of money you placed on the cards. Best case somebody isn't able to buy a $15000 Rolex on your credit card.

PayPal and Crypto's are also a good choice here but with their pro's there are always a few additional cons i.e. hard to get money in and out of Crypto, If your living a lifestyle where you travel often and regularly you may not be able to administer your PayPal account and dispute any fraudulent transactions.

Use good Security Apps

There is a whole bunch of good security apps out there, seriously I even wrote my own you probably heard me talk about it in "Jump the Shark" On a serious note theres a whole bunch of good free and premium security software and if you enjoy projects there is numerous handy Security and privacy projects you can easily deploy onto Raspberry Pi.

For personal use I alway advocate my own creation PassVult: The Ultimate Anti-Cloud Password manager which now has a check for breaches feature where you can see if your accounts have turned up in any breaches. But don't take my word for it theres a whole bunch of Stelar reviews Online.

Its also important to note you should always have the basics covered e.g. Antivirus and Firewall but look out for products with "Security Smarts" built in which is becoming more common for Routers and appliances to protect your woefully insecure IoT devices.

Until Next time!

Equifax: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [source]

Correction, 26 July 2017:

These are different Lemons!

The mobile wallet Lemon (lemon.com) was bought by LifeLock. The financial information app by a different Lemon (lemon.co) was closed.

(Thanks, Alex Quach.)

12 December 2013:

LifeLock, Inc. (NYSE: LOCK), the leading provider of identity theft protection services, today announced the acquisition of mobile wallet innovator Lemon for approximately $42.6 million in cash.

...

"At Lemon, we've built our business around digitizing everything in your physical wallet and making it available anywhere and anytime on your smartphone," said Wences Casares, founder and CEO of Lemon.

31 March 2017:

In an effort to bring the ideas behind Lemon to a much wider audience, we've begun working directly with financial institutions. That means Lemon in its current form will sunset on March 31st, 2017. Thank you to everyone for your feedback, support, and usage!

LifeLock by Norton is currently offering up to 33% off your first year plan, making it easier to secure personal information, financial data, and online accounts. LifeLock provides identity monitoring, alerts for suspicious activity, and support if your identity is ever at risk.

This offer is a good option for users searching for lifelock coupons who want reliable, long-term identity protection without paying full price. It’s especially useful for people who regularly manage sensitive data such as banking, shopping, and work-related accounts online.