According to experts, maintaining a clean virtual environment can be just as beneficial to your mental well-being and level of productivity. It can also improve your cybersecurity at a time when ransomware, phishing, and hacking attacks are becoming more sophisticated in their attempts to access your digital data. 

So here, we are recommending you some tips on how you can keep your digital space clean:

Have a ‘Plan’ 

According to Clare Kumar, who councils both companies and individuals get organized from Toronto, the best place to start for anyone trying to clean up their digital files is to have a strategy. She also acknowledges that just getting started might be overwhelming at first, but having a plan can help. 

Clare advises on deleting really large files and the apparent ones that you really do not need, just to get started, moving on to the more complex files that might require some consideration before deciding on deletion. Also, she suggests flipping the deletion process around and emphasizing the items you want to save so "you don't have to worry so much about the rest." 

Another piece of advice comes from Tracey Silliker, an organizing expert based in Alberta. She recommends setting aside 10 minutes at first, and if you could, adding another 10 minutes, and so on. To lessen the stress of the endeavor, she also advises choosing one area to start with, such as your email or photos, and concentrating only on organizing it. 

“Just pick one to start because you can’t successfully do every single area at the same time — it will be too overwhelming,” she says. 

Declutter to Boost Security 

According to Lisa Pleggemier, executive director at the National Cybersecurity Alliance based in Austin, Texas, undertaking a digital spring cleaning can also help your online security. “The more data you have, the more you have to work to protect it. […] It’s usually good practice not to hang on to anything more than what you absolutely need,” she says. 

Plaggemier advises users to look through apps they do not use anymore and delete them from their phones. She also notes that in many cases, one might have to delete the accounts created within the apps before uninstalling them to completely get rid of them. 

“Combing and deleting old, unused apps is also a good way to boost security, considering some may have been compromised by hacks and you may not even know it”, Kumar added. 

Managing Your Password 

In terms of how a user must manage his password, Plaggermier suggests using a password manager to monitor them all and enable two-factor authentication when apps offer it. 

A password manager will allow users to have a sophisticated, hard-to-decode password that can be much easier to keep a track of. It is necessary to consider the fact that if a password is ever exposed, there is a high chance that the hacker will use automation tools to see if it applies to other services. 

Declutter Your Social Media Platforms 

Plaggemier advises examining the privacy settings of the various social media platforms as they may have changed without your knowledge. Moreover, Silliker advises looking out for individuals and groups you are following and unfollowing those you no longer keep a check on. “Just being mindful of what you’re consuming. It’s OK to unfollow,” she says.