June is Internet Safety Month, and while we have been spending much of our time at home working and taking care of our families, our personal information is just as accessible online as ever – if not more so. Here are seven things you can do to safeguard your family's digital assets during Internet Safety Month.

Reboot and Update Your Device

This is a simple step we all too often skip to avoid the inconvenience of system reboots and updates. However, those updates are front-line defenses against intrusions. Rebooting applies to all the digital devices in your home: TVs, wireless routers, cameras, refrigerators, etc.

Find a Trusted Account Management Tool

Get a trusted password manager (e.g., LastPass, Keeper, etc.) and a two-step authenticator (e.g. Duo, Google Authenticator, etc.), and make sure you have these installed on all of your devices in your home. Failing to do so leaves the door to your digital systems wide open!

Consider a Password Manager

Now, take an hour or two, and change all your major online passwords using your password manager. Don’t pick the password; allow the password manager to choose it randomly, and look for the option to add two-step (or two-factor) authentication. Most online applications are practically begging you to do this, which is also where your two-step authenticator mentioned above comes in.

Organize Your Online Content

Find a reliable cloud service (e.g., Google Drive, Apple iCloud or Microsoft OneDrive) and move all your photos and videos to a single location in the Cloud. Most services are usually self-organizing so you don’t need to explicitly name files and folders. Keep your digital room picked up by organizing your online files and folders and promptly delete all your junk documents. Create a simple folder structure with the top levels organized by the various hats you wear in life, and then organize the lower folders by year or some other easy-to-recall "find structure.” This is analogous to putting good labels on the files in a filing cabinet.

Prepare For the Future

Our digital assets are now an integral part of our estates. Keep your master password, or location of your master password, in your will. Some services such as Facebook will allow you to have a legacy account to memorialize your online content if something were to happen to you.

Be a Responsible Digital Parent

Protect your child’s well-being by setting some healthy digital boundaries. For example, have a central charging station outside of their bedrooms and insist that the whole family park portable digital devices at the charging station after bedtime. Reinforce accountability by setting limits on screen time and regularly checking the online activity of the young people in your home. Everyone benefits from online accountability and screen time awareness. If you have aging parents or friends, offer to help them with their digital security.

Unplug and Take a Break

Maybe tonight, unplug your home internet router, turn off your mobile devices and services, and enjoy a summer evening with your family. Now more than ever, we could all use a break from being online.

By Dr. Philip Huff, assistant professor and research fellow at the Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

UA Little Rock has been a leader in cybersecurity education and research for more than a decade. While cybersecurity is directly focused on protecting the digital systems our society relies on, everyone has a vital role to play in making this digitally connected world safer. To learn more about cybersecurity and UA Little Rock’s computer science program, please visit https://ualr.edu/computerscience/cybersecurity/.