Spring has officially arrived, and that means spring cleaning! As many of us are decluttering and purging our items this season, it’s important to remember that this applies to the digital space as well. 

Throughout the past year, there are a variety of ways you’ve expanded your cyber footprint without knowing it. Whether that’s holiday shopping, taxes, or even social media, chances are your digital space is gotten a bit cluttered. 

To help clean out your digital space, we’ve created a comprehensive cybersecurity checklist of all the areas you should focus on. 

Passwords.

If there’s one item on this entire checklist that should be reviewed, it’s passwords! Especially if you’re using the same passwords for multiple accounts, you’re at higher risk for a data breach. Make a document in a safe place that lists out all of your passwords for your accounts, and make sure they are strong. We also recommend using a password manager, and use multi-factor authentication where applicable. 

Email.

If you have thousands of spam or old, unread emails sitting in your inbox, now is the time to clean it out. Organize folders of emails you want to keep, and trash the ones you no longer need. You can update email filters to automatically send messages to the trash, which will save you a lot of time deleting them one by one in the long run. If there is any personal identification or confidential information existing in your email account, transfer it to a safe space. In addition, consider going through your contacts and deleting ones that aren’t necessary or relevant. 

Applications.

Downloading applications takes up a lot of space on your device. Take a look through your downloads and see which ones you can do without. You can also dig deeper on your device to see which ones are taking up the most space, so you know how to prioritize. 

Desk.

While your desk area isn’t considered a digital space, there could be confidential or important documents laying around that could put you at risk for theft. Shred any old paperwork, organize documents into folders, and lock away any financial, personal, or sensitive information. 

Backups.

You could lose data permanently if you don’t back it up. Start reviewing your backup routines, and test those backups to make sure they’re being implemented and completed successfully. In addition, make sure to routinely update your applications and devices. This will help you stay proactive in preventing bugs or glitches in your devices. 

What other cybersecurity spring cleaning items do you have on your checklist this year? Leave us a comment below!

If you’re looking for someone to optimize and secure your digital space, you’ve come to the right place. Thinline Technologies provides a variety of IT consulting services including managed backup services, cloud solutions, incident response planning, and more. Contact us today!