For most businesses, an online presence is a necessity to compete in today’s business world. While a website opens new doors for your business, what is lurking behind those doors is not always a good thing. Ideally, you could reap the benefits of online commerce without any risk, but a number of dangers do lurk online. Quite a few respected businesses have seen their websites hacked and infected with malware. Not only does the business lose online orders, but they may experience further problems such as email spamming or blacklisting.
An infection can even lead to the theft of sensitive customer data, such as names, addresses, and credit card information. The public relations fallout, lost business, and the cost of settling lawsuits can devastate a small or mid-sized business.
Business owners should take cyber security seriously, and utilize these safety measures to keep their customers – and their own business – safe.
Choose secure passwords. Hackers use software that guesses at passwords in rapid succession until a website is unlocked. Passwords should be composed of a complex series of both capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Never use common words, your last name, and any other password that is easy to guess.
Install software updates. Software developers continually test their own creations for weaknesses. When a security threat is identified, they release updates to patch the problem. But you won’t get the patch unless you allow the software to update! So when you see those update alerts, let them install. This only takes a few minutes in most cases, and it could save your business one day.
Use virus protection. Choose a respected program to protect your network from viruses and malware, and run the scans regularly. Set an alert on your calendar to remind you to perform weekly scans.
Set up a firewall. A reliable firewall will monitor traffic on your network, protecting your equipment from infections. Choose and install a highly-regarded firewall, or have a specialist install one for you.
Limit access. Don’t give all of your employees access to the back end of company website. For that matter, don’t freely share your wifi password, either. View each device connected to the network as a potential entry point for hackers. The fewer the entry points, the smaller your risk of attack.
For more information on keeping your company website and network safe, call Davik Consulting at (888) Ring-My-Tech. They can assist you with firewall installation, virus removal, and all other network security solutions.
