Should you store your data in the cloud?

     It’s pretty simple to understand where a file goes when you save it on your PC. It lives on your hard drive, possibly housed in a set of folders you’ve created and organized yourself. That file is only stored on your computer, unless you decide to email it to yourself or save it on an external hard drive or USB.

Now what about the cloud?

Tis the season for identity theft!

     Tis the season for filing your taxes. Tis also the season for getting your identity stolen. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission saw a nearly 50 percent increase in identity theft complaints in 2015. Of those complaints, almost half were related to tax or wage identity theft. The IRS also reported a huge increase in tax-related ID theft in 2015—about 2.5 times the number in 2014. All this is to say: Identity theft is a problem that’s not going away.

     As is the case with all cybersecurity, the best way to protect yourself from threats of the stolen identity variety is to make yourself aware. By knowing the basic who, what, when, where, why, and how, you’ll be far less likely to fall victim to identity theft. So let’s start from the top.