Blogtober Day 5: Two surprising products helping to keep our data safe...

Disclaimer:  I have not been paid to promote any products mentioned in this post.  I just wanted to share a couple of clever solutions I didn't know about that we've added to our attempts to keep our data safe and wanted to share in case you hadn't heard about them either. 

Hi Honeys, 

It's day 5 of Blogtober already and today I thought I'd share a couple of new products we've been using at home to help us try to avoid the ever-present danger of data theft.

You know, I'm old enough to remember when this wasn't a problem honeys.  There weren't any "bots" or hackers trying to discover what our passwords were by finding out what our first pet's name was or who our favourite teacher was in primary school.  There weren't any online accounts waiting to be hacked because... well there wasn't any internet 😊    

Yes, all we had was good, old fashioned snail mail, and don't even get me started on the dinosaurs 😊  In today's fast moving, everything-is-available-24-hours-a-day-because-it's-all-online world, the thing we all have, the thing that is most valuable to criminals is our personal data. 

Identity Theft...

It's frightening to me how easy it is for bad people to abuse the smallest piece of information in order to find out more about us and to then use this profile they've built to steal our identity.  

By doing this, they can set up accounts allowing them to obtain goods and credit, they can steal money from our bank accounts, they can ruin our credit rating, which itself can have a huge impact on our day-to-day lives.  Once stolen, it can be exhausting trying to regain control of our own identities, to prove we are who we say we are.

Keeping Our Data Safe...

There are steps we can take though to try to protect ourselves and to keep our personal data safe from criminals.  I previously wrote a post, 20 ways to prevent identity theft, which outlines things we can do, habits we can form, in order to avoid the risk of our data being abused.  You can read the post here honeys.  

Of course we have to be mindful of our data online, and there are lots of (I hope) helpful tips in the above mentioned post to help you do this.  It is in our day to day lives though that we, and our personal data, are (at least equally) vulnerable. This is where building habits that protect our data can help.

An easy habit to make, and even easier to keep to, is to sort your mail straight away.  No honeys, I'm not saying to drop everything as soon as you spot the postman opening your garden gate 😊  The moment you pick your mail up from the mat behind the door though should be the only time you touch a great deal of it.  How so, Rosie? I hear you ask. 

On the wall at the bottom of our stairs we have a hanging, three pocket organiser.  Each pocket has a label attached, to file, to action (ie: bills to pay, letters to reply to) and to shred (anything with sensitive data, even if it only has your name and full address.) 

Items are sorted accordingly and anything that doesn't fall into one of these three categories, for example flyers and  junk mail (not addressed personally and just posted through everyone's letterbox, usually addressed to "The Householder") is immediately dropped into the small recycle bin nearby.   

If you'd like to read the post on this mail sorting system, which has free printables to use, you can read it here.    

Two New (to me anyway :) Products Helping Us Keep Our Data Safe...

1. Less Shredding, More Rolling...

On then, to the first of our new recent additions in our battle against the theft and misuse of our personal data.  There are no words for how much I love this little ink roller 😊 

It's a completely self contained little ink roller unit.  It arrives ready to use straight away, full of ink and is supplied with three extra refills.  

In order to use it, you simply remove the cap at the bottom and roll it across any printed data you don't wish prying eyes to see.  When rolled across the name and address on an envelope for instance, the lettering completely vanishes under a line of print, as you can see.  

Are we the only ones who didn't know about these useful little rollers honeys?  I found out about them when my much loved sister-in-law bought one and I just couldn't do without it now.  It's reduced our shredding pile by such a lot. 

Of course we still shred bills, statements and any financial correspondence, but we no longer waste time shredding envelopes and generic flyers just because they have our full name and address on them.  This can be wiped out by our useful little ink roller.   I think it cost around £9 for the roller and three extra refills and I've used it so many times since July when we bought it and haven't had to use any of the refills yet. It's the little roller that can 😊

2. Sharpening & Lubrication Sheets To Service Your Shredder

Another product I had never heard of until I spotted them on Amazon while searching for the little ink roller, are these small, useful sheets which apparently will help in the maintenance of our shredder and, according to the packaging,  will "prolong shredder life."   

We tend to go through shredders in our house honeys.  I mean they'll last for a year or two (maybe three if we're very lucky) but then it's time to go to buy another one.   

Shredding is Hubby's job around here and we do generate a lot of data confetti with our cross cut shredder 😊  Hubby is ruthless in his data policing of our mail , delivery notes with parcels and invoices, so any shredder we buy does get put through it's paces during its lifetime.  

Hubby's had these small sheets since July and and according to him, they do seem to help keep our shredder healthy.  It does shred a little more quietly, while the sheets themselves are biodegradable, don't contain any toxins so they can be placed into the recycle bin or even into your compost bin. 

It's suggested that they're used around once a month for typical use and there are 12 sheets in the pack so for less than £5 (at the time of writing this) for a year's worth of shredder care, he's happy 😊 

Summing Up...

Between them, these two products will hopefully allow our shredder to keep protecting us from data thieves for a good long while.  The little ink roller by cutting down on the amount needing shredded and the maintenance sheets by keeping the shredder in good condition.    

Links

Rolling Confidential Stamp with refills: You can find the one we bought here honeys.  

Aurora SP1000 Shredder Lubrication and Sharpening Sheets:  You can find out more about them here honeys.

20 Ways to prevent identity theft:  You can read this post here.

Mail sorting made easy (with free printables):  You can read this post and download the printables here.  These printables still seem adorable to me, and we're still using them on the pocket system in the hall.  Enjoy honeys x 

So, over to you then, have you discovered any new products you love and would recommend?  Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.  Are you taking part in Blogtober this year?  Please leave me your links in the comments so I can come visit, read your posts and say hello 💖 

Till tomorrow dear ones, stay warm and safe, hugs always xx