Knowing where to store sensitive information is incredibly important. Whether for work or personal use, knowing how to keep private data out of the hands of strangers and other prying eyes is a basic skill everyone should take the time to learn. Take a look at some of the steps below to learn how to keep your data safe, whether online or on your local computer:

• Only download and use trusted applications and software. Downloading software from untrusted sites, including ones you haven’t been to before or that you accessed via torrent or peer-to-peer network, can cause malicious software to download to your computer. If you computer gives you a warning about an untrusted publisher when you run an application, think twice about that application’s origin before allow it to run.
• When browsing the internet, be sure to use the secure version of web sites, especially on sites which require any login or personal information, like your credit card or address. You can check to see if a site is secure by looking in your browser’s address bar for a URL that starts with “https://” – the “s” denotes the secure form of the site was loaded. Many browsers also have an easy-to-recognize padlock icon next to the URL as well.
• Don’t keep passwords or other sensitive data, such as your driver’s license or social security number, on your mobile device. Use a password manager or well-known and trusted password vault for storing this information. Keeping passwords or other sensitive information written down or as notes or emails on your device is a poor security practice.