Many of us are constantly connected to the online world these days.  This means that the potential is there for our computers and personal information to be compromised which greatly increases the risk of ID theft and financial fraud to occur.  However, by taking some basic precautions you can significantly reduce the risk of your computer environment being compromised.

Following these guidelines can make your computer environment at home and small office more secure:

• Use anti-virus / anti-malware software on your PC and smart phones and make sure they are kept updated.
• Turn on your Windows Firewall.
• Use Microsoft Update to keep your Windows and MS Office applications updated with the most recent security patches.
• Make sure that you keep programs such as Java, Adobe (Reader, Acrobat, Flash, etc.), Internet browsers, and other online programs updated with the most current security patches.
• Use WPA2 and not WPS on your home or small business Wi-Fi router.
• Secure your shared key on your Wi-Fi router with a password or pass phrase that is at least 16 characters.  Use upper and lower case, special characters, and numbers in the pass phrase.
• Don’t use public Wi-Fi to access your bank accounts, make online purchases, or exchange personally identifiable information with other parties.
• Look for the padlock and https on your Internet browser window.  Secure online shopping sites should use the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology for securing online transactions.  You should see a padlock icon at the bottom or top of the browser status bars that you are using and https in the address bar.

If you suspect that your personal financial information has been compromised, call MutualBank Customer Support at 800-382-8031.

Also please report any online fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

This post is written by John Mickle, Risk Management and Compliance at MutualBank.