Top 10 cyber security tips
The world of the Internet is advancing by leaps and bounds. But with it, the ways to commit fraud, steal sensitive data have also evolved.
However, there are some practices you can take into account to protect your personal information and prevent hackers from taking your information and money.
Here are 10 cyber security tips that will help you avoid becoming a victim of a cyber-attack.
1: Use a password manager
If you use the same password for all your accounts or, slight variations of the same password, the chances of you becoming a hacking victim are much higher. It’s also not a good idea to write them down and keep them in plain sight. I’m talking to you sticky note on the monitor! and don’t try and hide your sticky note passwords under the keyboard. If you’re going to use paper please put them in a generic book that’s unmarked and hide it in a desk drawer.
Fortunately, there is a better solution to help you remember the dozens of usernames and passwords you use every day.
Password managers are applications that serve to store all our credentials, users, and passwords along with the corresponding websites, in an encrypted database using a “master” password, and create a unique strong password for each service we use.
They are an excellent tool that can warn us if our password is too weak, is repeated in several services, or if that service has suffered a security breach and we must change our passwords; which makes them an essential element for any company seeking to improve its security.
2: Train your employees
Although many people believe that cyber-attacks are carried out through complex mathematical operations and lines of code, most attackers often resort to much simpler and equally powerful tactics, such as phishing.
Phishing is a type of online scam that involves sending an email or message that appears to come from a known source, such as our internet service provider, bank, or our social networks, and looks as if the message was sent by a company we trust and work with on a regular basis.
Training your employees about the best practices against phishing, and being cautious when choosing which links to click on or which files to download is the best way you can protect your business information.
If you have sensitive information on your computer or phone, you should also avoid leaving your devices unattended for too long and keep them locked up so that no one can use them while you are away.
3: TFA Use 2 factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is a process by which you can strengthen the security of your accounts through two methods of identity verification. It consists of using a known key, such as your account password, along with a randomly generated unknown key that will be sent directly to your phone each time you want to access your account.
Even if a hacker managed to crack your username and password, they would still need to have access to your phone in order to log into your account, making this one of the most powerful security methods to keep our data safe.
4: Patching Update the software on your computer
Operating system updates not only allow our devices to function properly but also improve the performance and increase the security of our software. Updating your company’s computers regularly will keep you better prepared to prevent potential security vulnerabilities and prevent cyber attackers from easily infiltrating your network.
5: Be careful about what you post online
Hackers can use the information you post on your social networks to commit an attack when you are out of the office, you are on vacation, or you reveal something of relevance. For example, if you post you just bought a new Amazon TV, cyber attackers could send you an email or text message along with a supposed link to reschedule your shipment that would lead you to fill out a form and provide them with your username and password voluntarily.
For this reason, you should always be careful about the amount of information you post on your social networks.
6: Be careful when sharing personal info
Just as you should be careful about what information you post online, you should also be cautious when choosing what information you share in the real world, as the consequences can be just as damaging.
7: Use mobile devices safely
Mobile devices are as vulnerable to malware as your desktop or laptop could be if you don’t take the right precautions. The best way you can prevent your phone from being infected is through prevention, by only downloading files from trusted sources and avoiding clicking on strange links and websites.
8: Backup your data
Having a backup of all your company’s information is a good strategy, both to prevent suffering great economic losses in case you become a possible victim of a cyber-attack, and to avoid losing sensitive data in case your computer is affected by a virus or you suffer a system failure.
We recommend that you back up your computers frequently, or hire a team of experts Like us who can help you with this task. The good thing about a team like us is that we’ll monitor those backups and verify they’re happening. one less thing you the business owner have to think about.
9: Get an multi level antivirus
Cyber-attacks are trying more and more sophisticated and complex methods to overcome our current protection. A good way in which you can prevent yourself from becoming a future victim is through the use of an antivirus. But if you really want to protect your company or personal computer from the thousands of cyber-attack attempts that happen every day, we strongly recommend you to start using a multilevel AV, which offers advanced threat detection and will allow you to protect your computer through multiple layers based on the best cybersecurity technology. Multi level antivirus is similar to two factor authentication which combines traditional antivirus scanning for known vulnerabilities with an AI software that scans for anomalies and changes to the average system processes.
10: Never give out personal information over the phone
Think about it for a moment. If your bank knows your name, your address, and your card number, why would they call you to ask you for information they already have? The best way to avoid becoming a victim of a cyber-attack is through prevention and avoiding giving your information to strangers. and remember that your bank or any other company will not contact you to ask you for sensitive information, so you should not be willing to give it to anyone, especially not over the phone.
Always go to the source and call to verify if the person who has contacted you really belongs to the company they claim to be a part of.
Check out the link in the description below for an updated list of our recommended password managers two factor authentication and antivirus providers. or if you’d like to save yourself a headache we’d be happy to build a security stack that meets your needs and manage it for you.