Spring Cleaning—Don’t Forget Your Digital Home

It’s starting to feel like spring, which means many of us are planning our annual spring cleaning. When you’re putting together your task list, don’t forget your digital home. Spring clean your devices and accounts, as well.

Keeping your devices clean and decluttered reduces your risk for hacking and cybersecurity breaches.

Here are 10 recommendations to sweep up your devices!

Uninstall Apps

Look through your applications and software and uninstall any that you have not used recently or even forgot you had. Uninstalling apps and software gives you more space and memory.

Unsubscribe from Newsletters and Alerts

Go through your emails and unsubscribe from any alerts or newsletters you no longer need. Unsubscribing helps keep your emails more relevant, so you can see important emails easier.

Check Your Bank History

Have you ever signed up for a free trial and forget to cancel the membership? Or have services you simply do not use any longer? To avoid unnecessary payments and save money, check your bank history and cancel any services you do not utilize.

It is also good to make sure your bank information has not been stolen and is not being used without your permission or knowledge.

Delete or Update Passwords

If you select your browser to save passwords, it is time to review stored passwords. Clear your password history, along with autofill information.

Now would be a good time to change passwords and keep track of them differently. Change them periodically to a unique passphrase. Also, implement a password manager to help you keep track. Learn more on securing log-in credentials from MS-ISAC.

Review Your Contact List

This is a good time to check your contacts list and remove any numbers that are outdated or you no longer use. Decluttering your contacts list makes it easier to look for important numbers. If family members or friends have changed their numbers,you may have multiplesfor those contacts.

Declutter Your Files and Photos

Another way to declutter your devices is to go through and delete downloaded files, screenshots, or images that you saved for a one-time use. Purchase an extra hard drive or a USB/SD card to store pictures and files that are important. Once they are saved in an external storage, you can delete them from your device to free up memory.

Trash Your Trash

It is easy to assume that once you select ‘delete’ or ‘trash’ your files are eliminated from your device. However, sending a file to trash doesn’t mean it is removed from your device’s memory. To ensure you have removed your trash, select ‘Empty Trash’ on your device. This keeps your trash clean too!

Clear Out Your Cloud Storage

Cloud storage and networks are connected to most, if not all, of your devices. This is information that has been saved over time and passed to your next device when you obtain a new one. Your devices may be saving old information or information that you do not need. Cleaning your cloud storage by deleting items is the best way to avoid leaked information and decrease the risk of a cybersecurity breach.

Clean More Than the Inside of Your Devices

To keep your devices clean, use alcohol-based wipes to clean screens, lenses, outer shells, and more. To deep-clean your keyboard, use compressed air to remove dust or food crumbs.

If you have tangled cables or an assortment of cables, this is a great time to identify or label cables you do not need and safely dispose or store them away.

Securely Disposing Old Devices

If you intend to completely dispose an old device, do not forget to complete a factory reset. Do not dispose your devices that might contain saved passwords and important files or are connected to your cloud services.

Disposing your devices is not like disposing your everyday trash. They contain batteries and electronics that can be harmful to the environment and could turn hazardous. Research options in your community to discard electronics safely. You also could resell them for extra cash.

This year include your devices in your spring cleaning. Decluttering your electronics keeps them from becoming slow and stops them from lagging. You create more space on your devices and protect yourself from security breaches.

While you’re cleaning, read how to take charge of your data through data privacy!