Online security – not the first thing that a business owner or manager thinks about in the morning. Between posting on social media, buying office supplies on Amazon, and browsing the web for the latest marketing tips and tricks, online security may be placed on the back burner. But scammers are always on the hunt to steal your business and personal information, passwords, and of course, your hard-earned money. Make sure you take as many precautionary steps as you can to protect your business and your personal online identity. Here’s a few tips on how:
Make sure the employees who do have access are competent and trustworthy. Also, and this may be an obvious one, do not write your logins and passwords on a sticky note or in an easily-accessed spreadsheet! With ElePass, you upgrade your risky “hiding places” for a simple, encrypted password management service. You can manage and monitor who sees what, by setting permissions at the team/project or user level. At the same time, you can better organize password information—and access it right from your Chrome or Firefox browser—to minimize searching and productivity delays. Perfect for an extremely busy business owner!
Antivirus software prevents, detects, and removes viruses and other malicious malware. The software needs to be updated regularly to provide effective protection. We know it is so easy to just click “remind me tomorrow” but failure to update your antivirus software can/will result in catastrophe!
For accounts that support it (such as bank accounts,) two-factor authentication requires a password and another piece of information to log into your account. The second piece of information could be a one-time pin number, answer to a secret question, or a code sent to your phone. Its purpose is to make attackers’ lives harder and reduce fraud risks.
Copy your files to an external hard drive or cloud storage. If your database is attacked by malware or hacked, you will still have access to your files. We suggest backing up your essential records once a day, and your less important files on a weekly or biweekly basis. There are automated processes to make this easy and painless.
Yes, we know it is super easy to go to Starbucks, sip a latte and do some work, but hackers can compromise public Wi-Fi easily. There are many methods – including making the user think the hacker’s machine is the access point to the internet, and boosting a stronger Wi-Fi signal off of a hacker’s laptop and labeling the restaurant/hotel’s name. As you log into your bank account, or check personal documents, assume that all of your activity is being monitored.
Remember, ElePass is just one important tool in your arsenal of online security tools you should have, but one that can help you be pre-emptive and mitigate possible risks. Your data and business are important. Protect it as best as you can. Ready to get started? Try a 14-day FREE trial today!