The Internet has long been an excellent tool for business, but you can’t make use of it without putting your sensitive data in danger of threats, like hackers and malware. Granted, when it involves cybersecurity, even the most cautious businesses will have a lot on their plate. Today, we’ll re-evaluate eight of the most important security best practices, and discuss how you can implement them to protect your online identity.
Use Proper Password Management
As one of the most important parts of protecting your infrastructure, password management can’t simply be ignored. Passwords used within your company should be complex and use a range of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. While this might make them difficult to recollect or remember for your team, an enterprise-level password manager can make this task easier.
Check for Security Certificates
Before you enter sensitive credentials into any website, you ought to first check to make absolutely sure that it is secured with a security certificate. In Google Chrome, you’ll check this by trying to find the green padlock icon next to the URL within the address bar. Generally, if you see an internet site with an https:// within the URL, it’s probably secure, but it’s still best to look for and find the certificate.
Implement a Spam Filter
Emailing is one of the biggest scamming options for hackers. They’re going to include links that cause malicious downloads or fake websites that are designed to reap your credentials. You’ll dodge many of those bullets by hovering over the link and checking to see where the link leads before you really download the file or head over to the website.
Be Careful of What You Download
Online applications often download unwanted adware or browser add-ons, just because they are marketed as “freeware.” Many of those add-ons are often malicious in nature, so it’s best to always analyze the end-user license agreement prompts that come with the download, and have a sharp eye for what you’re agreeing to. In other words, don’t leave checkboxes checked unless you really want what they’re offering.
Always Keep a Firewall and Antivirus Solution Active
You definitely need to have an antivirus or firewall running on your network to save your computers from potential danger. Firewalls can keep threats out of an infrastructure, while an antivirus can eliminate the threats that manage to get past your defenses. Never disable your firewall for any reason.
Use Content Filtering
While content filtering is good for blocking social media and distracting sites, it can also protect your employees and systems from so much more. With content filtering, you’ll keep your users from accessing fake websites or accessing anything that contains malware that would negatively affect your infrastructure.
Identify Phishing Attacks
While a spam filter can keep some phishing emails out, others will undoubtedly still make it through the restrictions you have set up. Phishing attacks use deception to trick users into delivering important credentials or sensitive data. The hacker might even pretend to be somebody else so as to extort information from you. Search for spelling errors or inconsistencies if you receive messages from unsolicited sources, and never let your guard down. You might even want to cross-check the email addresses or phone numbers that you have in your contact lists to see if the user is legit or trying to scam you.
Just Use sense
When a threat appears, people tend to act impulsively. It is important to stay calm while dealing with malware or viruses. Instead, you ought to devote some time and energy into resolving the matter, instead of panicking. These actions can help minimize the damage done and protect your online identity. For more great security tips and tricks, reach out to MyTek at 623-312-2440, and subscribe to our blog.