Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, you might be forced to manage all business operations from home. During these difficult times, cybersecurity threats have also increased. So, you might need to subscribe to amazing Internet plans like Cox essential package to access special antivirus software. Besides this, you can take a few other measures to avoid cybercriminals and hackers from stealing your personal information and important data. Read on to know more about this.
Give Adequate Training
Just because you have sound knowledge of Internet threats and security, it doesn’t mean that you are completely safe. You need to train your employees as well. Come up with effective strategies and guidelines for your employees to follow.
Ask them to contact you immediately in case of any problem. Also, encourage your team members to communicate with each other to avoid such situations.
Set Up Powerful Passwords
Setting up strong passwords is another effective measure to stay protected from hackers. Use at least eight characters in your password. Make sure to use a blend of numbers, letters, and special characters to establish a powerful password.
Also, use different passwords for different accounts. This is because if a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, it will guard him against accessing other accounts.
Change Privacy Settings
Social media accounts are very vulnerable to cyberattacks and hacking. So, make sure that your social media account is very private. Don’t keep your personal photos and files public. Also, restrict third-party websites from tracking your online activities. This is especially important if you are using public Wi-Fi. Hackers can easily steal your private data and use it to blackmail you.
Secure Your Wi-Fi
Make sure that your home Wi-Fi is secure. Set up a strong password and don’t share it with strangers. To avoid others from exploiting your network, you can also set up a guest network. Another great way to secure your Wi-Fi is to use a great VPN service.
A VPN service can guard your online activities against hackers easily. Even if the hackers steal your private information, he/she will not be able to misuse it. This is because the information will be in encrypted form.
Use Effective Back Ups
It is very important to have effective backups on your device. These can help you to avoid losing all the important data. If a hacker gains access to your device, he/she’ll not be able to steal data if it is not available there. You can use OneDrive to upload important files and documents on it regularly.
Make sure to avoid using its app on your device. Even if you do use the app, make sure that the files are not available in the offline mode. This will ensure that the files are not on your device.
Never Share Personal Information
Hackers might send you phishing emails and scams regularly. But you should avoid them at all costs. Check for grammatical errors in the emails before sharing your personal data. Also, make sure that username spellings are correct.
It is also an effective measure to ask the relevant person if he/she has really sent out an email. Similarly, you should never click on unknown links. This is because these links might be a malicious source to gain access to your system.
Educate Your Kids
If you have kids at home, you should train them as well. This is because if your kid is using your device, he/she might easily access your private files and share them. To avoid this from happening, ask them to never open your business documents and folders.
Also, ask them to never share their private information with strangers on the Internet. This is because the strangers can then blackmail your kids into sharing more data.
Contact the Authorities
If a hacker gains access to your private information, you should immediately contact the relevant authorities. In case a hacker steals your credit card information, immediately contact the bank. If your personal data has been stolen, you should contact the FBI.
Use Antivirus Software
Great antivirus software can guard you against cybercriminals. Even if the virus gets installed on your device, the antivirus will fight against it effectively. You can buy your own antivirus. A few suggestion like avast or webroot etc but webroot vs avast which one is better for a home use? You can subscribe to an Internet service to get a free one. For instance, when I dialed the Cox complete care phone number to buy an Internet package, I was offered a free antivirus software as a perk.
After installing antivirus software, make sure to update it regularly. This is important because an outdated software will not be able to fight against viruses effectively. On the other hand, the updated software will ensure your long-term protection.
