Digital spring cleaning tips from the City of Boston

Take a few minutes to clean up your online accounts.  Review social networks, email, shopping sites, cloud storage, etc., and figure out if there are any that could be closed.  In your open accounts, are there items you can clean out that aren't needed (for example saved credit cards numbers, saved passwords in a web browser, or old files in cloud storage)?  Finally, is it time for a password refresh? If so, remember to make your new password unique and secure!

Next, take some time to go through the security settings on all your social media accounts. You want to review your settings to make sure only the people you want to be able to see your information can, while others can't.  Is there a social media account (MySpace!) you really haven't used for a while? Close it out!  You can also set up two-step verification on your password for most social media accounts to add an extra layer of security to them.

Finally, take a little time to check out the computers, laptops, tablets, and phones you use every day.  Delete any unused apps, clean out those old downloads, and archive old files. Then, take out the trash (empty your recycle bin or trash bin).  Protect your device with a time-out lock and make sure there is a password, PIN, fingerprint, etc. set up to unlock it. Check that all your software is up-to-date, especially your security software (anti-virus is a MUST).