Beware the Ides of March

The Ides of March have arrived — the proverbial time to beware of enemies and people who may wish you harm. However, you shouldn’t just be on your guard during the Ides of March, but keep constant vigilance, especially when it comes to internet safety. Business is done mostly online these days, which means there are a variety of ways that hackers can access your business systems and security. So, make sure you take the time to follow some of these simple steps to securing your business’s internet safety!

Passwords: Make sure you have different passwords for each different account you use. If you continue to reuse the same passwords over and over again, all a hacker needs to do is get access to one password, and they now have access to all of your accounts. Also, don’t forget about making security questions difficult for anyone but you to answer. Forbes contributor, Gay Gaddis, suggests that when it comes to creating answers for security questions go against the grain and lie. You’d be surprised how easy it is to find your mother’s maiden name, or the street you grew up on.
Update Your Software: Software updates can be annoying, especially if it’s for your operating system because you have to restart your computer. However, these updates serve a purpose; generally software is updated because programmers have found kinks in the current software and fixed them. This includes vulnerabilities that malware has taken advantage of. Having up to date software and anti-virus protection keeps your system as protected as possible!
Enable two-factor authentication: Lisa Eadicicco from Business Insider suggests two-factor authentication for logging into your account, which many services, including Google, offer. After entering your username and password, the website will also ask for a code which it sends to your smartphone in order to verify your identity.
Don’t email personal information: When exchanging personal information, either do it in person or over the phone. Sending information such as credit card numbers or bank account information opens up the potential for hackers to gain access to it.
Encrypt confidential information: If you need to put confidential information online, then make sure to encrypt it! There are various encryption tools that will keep your business information safe on the internet.
Back everything up on an external hard drive: No matter how convenient the cloud is, if you can hacked, that information could be gone with the push of a button. Make sure that you back up all your important information on an external hard drive. Speaking of hard drives, make sure that you only plug trusted sources (phones, thumb drives, hard drives, memory sticks) into your computer. An easy way for a virus or malware to access your computer is through external devices.