The Danger of Digital Clutter

We all have some degree of clutter in our lives. Whether we are talking about untouched, dust-covered boxes sitting in the garage, stacks of documents and mail strewn about the house, or clothes that you will absolutely never wear again. In the 21st century, we also have tons of “cyber clutter” such as unused email/social media accounts, old computers or devices, obsolete hard/flash drives, or antiquated documents to name a few. The problem with this digital clutter is that it contains valuable personal data that you do not want to fall into the wrong hands.

With that said, let’s take at some ways that we can tidy up our digital clutter and stay safe:

• Most of us have applications that we no longer use. You should delete these unused apps on your computer or mobile device, as unused applications are not regularly patched which can present vulnerabilities.

• Review your online files (documents or email) and regularly purge ones that are unneeded.

• Properly dispose of unneeded hard drives, USB drives, tape drives, flash drives, phones, wearables, networking equipment, and the like. These devices most likely contain personal information that you do not want falling into the wrong hands. For hard drives, we recommend having them shredded or permanently “wiped”.

• Delete any unused social media accounts, fitness accounts, document storage site accounts (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive), and etc. If these accounts are not used, do not leave your “forgotten” personal data exposed.