Security Tips – 8 Habits to Keep Your IT Safe

Technology continues to advance offering increased mobility, productivity and ROI at low cost. But this advance also present growing security concerns. Following are eight safety tips to help you guard agains common threats and protect your business from hackers, crooks and identity thieves.

8 habits which can improve your IT Security

1. Get a safer password: Don’t use real words. Try the first letter of each word in a phrase you’ll remember, plus numbers and non-aphanumerics. ~Ttfloewiapyr2!
2. Check the URL: Once you’re on a website, check that the URL displayed is EXACTLY the same as the one you keyed in – not a phishing fake.
3. Lock that laptop! Remember – Windows+L takes you there in a micro- second.
4. Don’t hit that cancel button when another update comes in: These include security fixes – if you don’t run them, you’re vulnerable.
5. Encrypt first: Downloading data to a USB stick? Play safe – we all know how easy it is to lose a thumb drive.
6. Unexpected attachment? Check the sender, and the file extension. GIF, JPG, TIF, MPG, MP3 and WAV are safest. Watch out for .EXE files and double extensions eg. filename.gif.exe.
7. Don’t over- socialise: Keep your professional and your social lives separate, and don’t give away ANY company information on social networking sites.
8. Lost your smartphone? Activate remote lock/wipe, and promptly intimate your IT Department, even if it’s your personal phone but you sometimes use it for work.

While the threats to IT security are out there, these habits can help you stay protected and also keep your computer running more smoothly and reliably without costing you additional money.

To ensure maximum IT security, you should work with an IT partner like us. Together with Kaspersky, we offer a variety of IT security solutions that can help improve your overall online security. If you are looking to learn more about how we can help your business IT be secure, contact us today.