Privacy Tips

1. Change passwords once a month. Passwords are the keys into your life. If a criminal gets access to your email or any of your online accounts, it's surprisingly easy for them to worm their way into other aspects of your life.

2. Give the wrong contact information at checkout. Every time a store clerk asks for your zip code or phone number, that data gets aggregated. So retailers not only have databases that show where you live. They can find out much more about you, like your salary, credit history and birthday.

3. Need photo ID? Don't show your driver's license. This is a general rule for privacy. Don't reveal more than you have to. A driver's license shows your birthday and address.Next time your doctor's office asks for identification with a photo, show them something else, like your office building badge.

4. No banking apps. Galligan is particularly careful about access to her bank account. Although most credit cards have fraud protection, your checking and savings accounts don't.

Because of how easy it is for a computer to get infected with a malware that spies on you, Galligan doesn't shop and bank on the same computer. That includes her phone.

5. Keep one email account for junk mail only. When companies demand an email address, Galligan gives them a dummy account reserved for marketing.It gets bombarded with spam and annoying advertisements -- and shields her real email from the junk. And if those companies get hacked, her real account remains safe.