How to Protect Your Devices

There is no way to be 100 percent secure from cybercriminals but there are preventative measures you can take. Many of the tactics employed by hackers focus on weak passwords and software vulnerabilities. The news likes to try and scare people hyping up vulnerabilities, but many of them require the hackers to be on your local network or physically plugged into the device. However, it is still a good idea to follow best practices to help keep your devices safe. Here are three easy steps to protecting your devices.

Secure your login information

It is important to use strong authentication to protect access to accounts and ensure only those with permission can access them. This also includes enforcing strong passphrases. You should not share your login information with others or write it down in easy to find places.

Interesting Password Statistics (Source)

• 69% share passwords with colleagues to access accounts
• 51% reuse passwords across their business and personal accounts
• 57% who have experienced a phishing attack have not changed their password behaviors
• 67% do not use any form of two-factor authentication in their personal life, and 55% do not use it at work
• 57% expressed a preference for a login method that does not involve the use of passwords

Here are best practices to secure your login information.

• A minimum length of 8 to 12 characters long, with long passphrases
• Password complexity that means it contains at least three different character sets (e.g., uppercase characters, lowercase characters, numbers, or symbols)
• Change your password every 90 days or less
• Use of account lockouts for bad passwords, with a limit of 5 or fewer bad attempts

Keep your software up to date

Most devices have a setting to keep your software up to date automatically. If you are part of a domain your work should be keeping your computer operating system software up to date via Group Policies. Remember to keep your other software like Internet browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) up to date too. Here is how to check your software on the most popular devices running a newer operating system.

Windows 10

Navigate to Notifications icon > All Settings > Update & Security > Windows Updates. Depending on your version this option may no longer be available, so Windows is doing all the hard work and keeping your software up to date automatically. All you need to do is look for the restart notifications.

macOS

Navigate to the Apple icon > System Preferences > Software Update

iOS

Navigate to Settings > General > Software Update

Android

Navigate to Settings > System > Advanced > System Update

Backup your data regularly

There are several backup services. Hopefully, your business has a corporate document management system and backups to protect business data. There are several options for data security such as eDocs, Veeam, etc. Backups are important for business continuity and disaster recovery.

We must work together, and all do our part to help build a more secure cyber world. Learn how you can be cyber smart this National Cybersecurity Awareness Month at staysafeonline.org. Schedule your free intrusion test today for your business or contact Wolf Technology Group to learn how we can help keep your business secure. We provide full-service IT support from cybersecurity to user support. Learn more about our Managed IT Services.