University of California

What to do to protect your personal info

Though passwords weren’t exposed in this breach, there are still steps you can take to better protect your personal info.

Request credit reports

You get three free credit reports a year by law. Requesting and reviewing them does not affect your credit. Look for accounts, loans, or credit cards you don’t recognize.

Request credit reports

Avoid sharing your phone number

Try to avoid giving out your phone number when signing up for new accounts or services. If a phone number isn’t required, don’t enter it.

Use an email mask

Giving out your real email address makes it easier for hackers or trackers to find your passwords or target you online. A service like ⁨Firefox Relay⁩ hides your real email address while forwarding emails to your real inbox.

Try ⁨Firefox Relay⁩

Avoid using personal info in PINs

Because your date of birth is easy to find in public records, it’s best to avoid using it in passwords and PINs. People who know your birthday could also very easily guess your PIN.

Avoid using addresses in passwords

Using addresses or the street where you grew up weaken your passwords. Since it’s easy to find this info publicly, it makes these passwords easy to guess.

Use unique, strong passwords for every account

Password reuse puts all your accounts at risk. This means that if one password gets exposed, hackers have the keys to many accounts.

Store passwords in a safe place

Put your login details in a secure place only you can access, such as a password manager. This also makes it easy to keep track of all your different passwords.

Be cautious about giving out personal information

Don’t hand out personal data if you don’t have to. If you are asked to enter or give out your email address, ZIP code, or phone number, you can say no.

Update software and apps regularly

Updating your smartphone apps, browsers, and operating systems makes your devices more secure. These updates fix bugs, software vulnerabilities, and security problems.