6 Ways to Maximize Cyber Security on Your Online Business

Presently online, cyber-attacks occur every second of the day so much so that it’s the new normal to feel like you are being watched and your information is at risk whenever you go online. Right now, hackers are permanently on the prowl with their criminal activities. You can never who or where they’ll be hitting next. Maximum protection is the only effective means to deal with hackers. If you work online like I do, it therefore becomes hugely important to take steps to protect yourself and you data. Specifically, beefing up your cyber security becomes imperative by way of deliberate efforts. Some of such efforts include using secure software and establishing specific cyber security habits. That may sound daunting because of the technicalities involved but, in reality it is quite easy to put in place some viable aspects of cyber security even without knowing much about technology. You don’t have to be an expert on the counterfeit industry or a professional coder to create effective ways to secure your information online. If you are desirous to maximize cyber security for your online business, these here 6 ways can be of help to keep you safe from attacks particularly while using any electronic device or accessing an online service or account.

1. Set a Password on Every Device

These days, many people have multiple ways of accessing information online. Depending on their preferences and convenience, people access info from computers, smartphones and tablets. Through these devices, it is highly possible that valuable information can fall into the wrong hands because of the peculiarities of the devices which hackers know very well. For this reason, it helps to make sure that every device you use is password protected with a unique and different password. That is, if you don’t want unauthorized people gaining access by simply guessing your password if it is weak on one device and then using it elsewhere. You must be extra careful with your passwords whenever you use public Wi-Fi or go online in public cyber cafes. If however it becomes inevitable for you to make purchases or conduct business on an unsecured network, it is strongly advised that you use a virtual private network (VPN) service like Hotspot Shield instead. Doing so will enhance your security since your data will stay safe no matter where you are.

2. Encrypt Sensitive Files and Back them Up

If you want to store valuable and sensitive info/files on your computer, it is best to encrypt them to prevent hackers from even seeing them. If hackers can’t see your data, they can’t steal them either. You can in addition take deliberate steps to back up your data in as many ways as convenient for you. Backing up information allows you to have access to it somewhere else even if some other place has been compromised. It is one very viable way to forestall losing everything when hackers strike. To effectively back up your data, you can take advantage of multiple storage locations. You may even choose to keep backups on computers other than your own or the ones you use often. By doing so, if one system gets compromised, you can always fall back on the backups to access your data.

3. Make Your Passwords Strong and Safe

You may prefer passwords you can easily remember but such passwords are also easy to crack as well. The stronger the password, the more difficult it is for hackers to crack it. For better security, it is not advisable to use a password on multiple sites even if the password is strong. The best passwords are passwords that are strong enough and can’t be guessed easily by hackers or cracked by automated tools. For best security protection online, you must use unique and long passwords with random characters for every site and service you use. If you work on multiple sites, you can consider using a password manager if you have trouble remembering all your passwords. When choosing passwords, always have at the back of your mind, that comfort doesn’t always equate to safety.

4. Install Anti-Virus Software

Yeah, nearly everyone does this, and webmasters always recommend the use of anti-virus software too. Even at that and as basic as it may seem, there are still many people who avoid installing antivirus software for various reasons. Some anti-virus software need frequent upgrading while others may not even be very effective on all threats to your website. Besides, anti-virus programs aren’t just for computers only. There are variants for smartphones and tablets. Expert marketers recommend that the best anti-virus software to use are those that automatically scan your email attachments, documents, media files and web browsing history for viruses. They can then act to clean them up, sometimes even before closing from work. Some of such variants too are also automatically self-updating to newer versions as soon as they come online. They also clean up existing threats without any intervention from you. For best results, do not rely fully on automatic updating. Just make sure you take steps to update your antivirus programs every few weeks with new virus definitions. The extra vigilance is always worth the while because cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and more daring by the day. As a direct consequence, cyber-attacks are becoming more common. You can never be over-protected. You can only be under-protected to your regrets when you get hit because you were not vigilant enough.

5. Use Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication before you access a website is becoming more popular these days. It has therefore become a must-have protection for anyone with an online presence in this age and time. Two-factor authentication is simply an extra layer of security you can use on top of your password no matter how strong and safe the password is. What it does is that at the point of signing into any of your websites, you’ll need not only your username and password but also a security code that can be either texted or emailed to you for authentication. What this means is that even if someone gets hold of your password, they still won’t be able to access your account without the two-factor authentication. If you are active online, you must have already noticed that virtually all email and social media platforms now demand two-factor authentication. That is good news though. However, two-factor authentication may seem like a lot of work since you have to go through an additional step every time you login to your accounts through a different device. But, it is definitely a step worth the while because of the huge protection advantage it packs.
 
6. Keep a Keen Eye on Security Updates

This is absolutely necessary because security updates are released very frequently and sometimes without notice. It is imperative therefore to make sure you have a keen eye on these updates and staying on top of them. You can do this effectively by reading cyber security blogs, listening to cyber security podcasts and following cyber security experts on social media. Doing so is about the most efficient way to increase your overall knowledge about technology and the highly technical world of cyber security. Security software tools like Malwarebytes can also help keep your information safe. If you shop online as nearly everyone does these days, make sure that you use a Credit Card rather than a Debit Card. This is because Credit Cards have better fraud protection than Debit Cards and they don't allow thieves to withdraw money directly from your bank account. If you diligently follow the news about security, it will help enhance your personal decision making on general security not just security online.

Last Line

From the foregoing, it is obvious that you’ll be doing your business a lot of disservice if you neglect to maximize cyber security on it. It is not that difficult to do if you choose to. It merely takes a few deliberate steps, a little money and time to get your information/data protected online. All told, being on top of the cyber security game about your business is a great investment. Once you start applying the foregoing security options to your everyday online transactions and activities, you can stave off most of the common cyber security threats pervasive online.

4 Smart Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

To make your data safe online, you need some online privacy arrangements. These days, every business owner needs to take deliberate actions to address the many challenges facing consumer data online. One way to go is through consumer data privacy protection. Even with strong regulations against data hacking in many countries of the world, the practice is still not abating. What to do? Just find creative ways to protect your consumer data online. It is just not enough to simply resent data hacking and hold strong opinions about privacy. What matters most in the end is what actions you can take on your own to ensure your data stays private for your business. Here are some recommendations.

1. Use a Private Search Engine
 
To avoid being tracked easily online by any and every one, you can use a private search engine. The privacy of your data is better guaranteed that way. Major search engines particularly Google cannot guarantee your data privacy. You know why? Google makes money by tracking you, collecting as much information as possible on you, and then sells your attention using ads based on that. You can’t stop Google from making money can you? If you use private search engines like DuckDuckGo, you can still get great search results without being easily tracked and targeted by others. You have a better protection for your data privacy as a result.
 
2. Use a Virtual Private Network, VPN

Good examples of VPNs you can use and depend on are Express VPN or Norton Secure VPN. Online, it is possible for people to spy on the websites you’re visiting, where you’re located, and even the identification number and type of device you are using to access the internet. The most reliable way to stop these persons is the use of VPN. Most VPNs readily protect your private information from online predators. They can even make it appear to spies as if you are browsing elsewhere different from where you actually are. They are capable of disguising your internet access device as well.
 
3. Check Permissions

As many small business owners very well know, many apps and browser extensions people like to use usually come with a list of permissions that you must have to sign off on before you can start the services. Without these permissions, the services may not even work in many cases.  So, if you don’t give the required permission, it is virtually impossible for unauthorized persons to have access to your data. If you double check the permissions an app has access to, it is one great way to stop the app from accessing specific data it doesn’t have the permission to access. 

4. Manage Your Privacy Settings

This is hugely important for your privacy management. Any time you are on social media, you inadvertently leave a data trail about you on the platforms. This holds true as well on major search engines like Google. Through privacy settings, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for instance allow you to decide for yourself what info you choose to publicly share or privately share or not share at all. Through these privacy settings, you can limit who can find you via your phone number or email address and whether or not your profile can show up on search engines. You can also through privacy settings regulate who can see or comment on your posts and who can share your posts. What you choose to do depends on what you intend to keep private or what you want others to see and share. This no doubt varies for one business owner to another as their individual privacy settings take care of that.