Putting a price tag on cybersecurity for your business is near enough
impossible. With an increase in the number of viruses and online threats
businesses are experiencing, taking adequate precaution to keep your
business safe online is imperative.
Here are my top tips to protect your business online:
- Choose a paid-for antivirus
Whilst free antivirus may save you some money and there are many free options that have good ratings, there are always limitations to what they can do, and how well they protect your computers. Free antivirus will provide you with the basic level of protection, however you will have to upgrade to the paid for version to receive the fully comprehensive cover. Also, free versions are unlikely to keep up to date with the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity leaving you vulnerable to new viruses and malware. In addition, more often or not, they will come loaded with annoying pop-ups which can slow your device down. Paid for antivirus, not only protects from latest threats, but defends against hackers, viruses, spyware and malware, as well as safeguarding your identity and online transactions, which is rarely provided with free antivirus.
- Remember to protect your website
Websites can be overlooked when it comes to cybersecurity, however websites are often targets for hackers and malware attacks. Aside from ensuring your theme/software/plugin etc. updates are maintained as standard, make sure your website host provides adequate firewall and malware protection. This not only protects the server that your website is hosted on, but ultimately protects your site from
hackers too.
- Back up your files
No antivirus protection is 100% effective, so it is always worthwhile taking extra precaution and having back-ups of your files and documents, just in case. Cloud back up, provides off-site storage, so that if your computer is compromised in any way, you are still able to access your files, and business can continue.
- Be vigilant with emails
Almost daily, I receive queries from clients asking if an email they have received is genuine, and more often than not, the email is fraudulent. There are number of tell-tell signs of a disingenuous email including, its content – is the spelling and grammar sub-standard? Does this seem like a “normal” email from the sender? Also, check the “from” email address. Quite often, a scam email will come from a bizarre address, containing numbers or random words. Finally, avoid clicking on links you are unsure about. Most official emails won’t tell you to “click this link” to fix an issue or to provide account information. They will tell you to visit their website and login that way. If you’re still unsure, contact the business directly and ask if they sent the email.
- Keep passwords safe and obscure
This is the most common cybersecurity tip, however, so many people still use unsecure passwords. The most common password is still “password123” with people thinking no-one would be interested in their information, but they are very wrong. The most secure passwords should be a combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Avoid words, places and date of births related to you or family members. Always keep your passwords safe, and never use the same passwords for multiple accounts.