You just got a brand new computer or phone, take it out of the box and turn it on. The first thing it asks you to enter is your name, and sometimes your company.
Don't do it!
Entering your name brands all web "cookies" with your name, offering to good and bad websites alike your identity. This includes advertising companies and even bad actors on the web. Phone apps also get identity information from your username.
Particularly for small businesses, a full or descriptive name can also lure hackers. Will they hack a computer named "Coffee Room" or "New Product Development?" "Sue's Desk or Finance Dept?" Why lead them to your most sensitive or valuable data?
So don't make the most visible data your computer or phone transmits to all attract hackers or give identity thieves a helping hand. What should you do instead?
Give your computer a generic, boring name. You could give it a sequential or random number too.
In a small office, "Computer 110" is generic and boring, but the IT manager knows who is assigned #110. At home or for your phone, just enter "computer," "phone," "me," "desk," "sunshine," "123."
There is no requirement you need to enter your name on your personal or small business computers, tablets and phones. Of course, follow corporate IT department rules; this is written for your own devices and for small businesses computers you own or manage.
The same would apply to usernames on all accounts you create on the web--use anything but your name or title.
You can always rename your computer and phone, so don't worry if you've already named it "Smithers, CIO," "Children's Computer" or "Customer Data."
Contact us for a privacy review of your computers and phones.
