Phishing scams, locky viruses, card readers, and hackers all pose a very real threat. Last week we saw Dyn, a top provider for many major websites, suffer from a brutal attack on their servers. This attack was able to cripple sites like Spotify and Qualtrics for hours. If you can’t remember the last time you changed your password or when you last acknowledged your anti-virus software update notice, this list is for you. We have 5 steps you can follow to increase your online safety.

  1. Enable Stronger Authentication
    How many times has a company asked to enable 2 or 3 step verification for logging in? How many times have you said “skip this step?” We know it’s challenging to remember your password, let alone 2 or 3 other steps, but it’s crucial for protecting yourself online. Adding these steps increases your ability to protect yourself against a potential hacker. Hacking one password is easy but hacking a 2 or 3 step process is hard. All the steps need to match. So set up a multi-step verification for your online accounts – it will save you in the future.
  2. Don’t Ignore Your Updates!
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    If this picture is you, listen up. Although you may feel inundated with pesky upgrade reminders, their sole purpose isn’t to drive you insane. Companies issue software upgrades more frequently now to protect against new threats. Even though the upgrade may only come with 1 or 2 changes you can visibly see, there are many security upgrades that happen internally. Whether it’s your iPhone, anti-virus, computer, or software – don’t ignore the upgrades or updates! Most upgrades and updates take minutes to install.
  3. Don’t Use Easy Passwords
    Again, we understand how hard it is to remember passwords when everything requires a password. But try to avoid using your dog’s name, your birthday, your kids names, or your own name as a password. Use a mix of lower and upper case letters, numbers, and symbols.
  4. Use Your Privacy Settings
    facebookHave you seen the friendly blue dinosaur pop up on Facebook? Yes, he’s cute but he’s there to help you. Facebook, and many other online sites, have drastically increased their privacy settings for users. These are not to be ignored. If you upload a photo publicly, any company can legally use it. Certain apps will track your location 24/7 even if you aren’t using it. Learn how each app and website uses your information and set your privacy setting accordingly.
  5. If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Is.
    We have some sad news to report, most people do not win $1 Million Dollars on the internet. Pop-ups and emails that claim to have millions of dollars waiting for you, are almost 100% of the time a scam. They are designed to capture your information so they can use it against you. If it sounds too easy or too good to be true, it probably is.

We don’t want to scare you but we do want you to be prepared and protected online. As technology evolves, so will the threats to you. If you get in the habit of practicing this tips now, it will be second nature going forward. If you are questioning how safe you are online, contact us! We can perform a security analysis and go over ways to improve security for yourself, your employees, and your customers.

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