As the Internet becomes increasingly present and relevant for business and professional activities, doubts increase about how to maintain privacy and security on the Web, in a way that does not harm business. Storing personal information, private and company financial data and keeping it secure can be difficult, but it is possible to avoid the vast majority of scams, spyware and privacy violations.
Therefore, we have created some tips for you to know if your company's internet is being used correctly by employees, avoiding threats, or if it is free from possible virtual attacks .
Website security check
Your employees may often be surfing the internet looking for something, or just passing the time, if there is a internet usage policy , and end up “migrating” from site to site. This type of behavior can be harmful to the company, taking security into account. As today there are a multitude of websites available for access, if security and reliability checks are not carried out, it is easy to fall into a trap.
Some sites request personal information to connect to your account or to complete a transaction. Hackers, thieves, and spyware programmers know this, and they often try to intercept your information during these transactions. Therefore, always use secure websites and companies and require access rules to be properly followed by your team.
First, your information should only be given to reputable companies, and then check that the company's website uses a web address that starts with “https” and has a padlock symbol in the address bar or at the bottom of the page. browser. This means that the site encrypts your information, making the data practically useless to any thief or hacker who might intercept the transmission.
Nothing is free
Is the internet full of good people wanting to offer wonderful, irrefutable gifts and offers? Rarely. A tempting contest often appears on social media with a draw for various technology products or even advertisements for you to receive gifts or giveaways at home.
You need to pay attention to this type of campaign, as most of these promotions ask you to fill out a registration form with personal data in order to compete. These contests tend to excite people, so in the workplace it can be important to be aware of what employees access, so that they don't end up putting the company's confidential data at risk.
Cybercriminals use these attacks to collect information that can be used in identity theft attacks. It is important to know that these hackers are always looking for something, in this case a network, to infect.
There is also ransomware, which is a type of malicious software (malware) created with the aim of blocking access to files or systems and only releasing them after paying a specified amount. It's like a kidnapping, but virtual. Despite being seen as a recent security problem, ransomware is not a new concept: the first references to this type of digital plague date back to the late 1980s.
Qualified passwords
Most people use passwords that are easy to remember, or that remember dates such as birth, someone's birthday or numbers like “123456”. Most of the time it is not the best option. From email to social networks, including internet banking. Passwords are an essential component of our internet lives. Passwords must protect our information from unwanted access. The stronger the password, the harder it is to crack.
This concern about qualified passwords needs to come from all employees, not just those who access more important information, such as bank details. In a report by SplashData , it was noticed that many people used easy and very dangerous passwords in 2016. Find out which were the 25 most used passwords in the world in 2016 . If you want to better protect yourself by using stronger, more secure passwords, you can check out our guide to creating and managing secure user accounts and passwords . With it you will learn a set of rules and actions to create and manage passwords in the best way, reducing the chance of them being discovered and consequently attacks and threats.
Identify fake emails
Emails saying that you owe a debt to a telephone company or stating that one of your documents is illegal, or does the message offer you prizes or virtual love cards? Summons you to a court hearing? Does it contain supposedly important news about a famous personality? It is likely to be spam , that is, a fake email.
If the message has texts with spelling and grammatical errors, makes tempting offers or has a link different from the one indicated (to check the real link, simply hover the mouse over it, but without clicking), be suspicious immediately. If in doubt, contact the company whose name was involved in the email.
When using corporate email, it is important to take extra care, because employees can often open a spam email without even knowing it, simply because it “seems” to contain something important. In this case, informing or giving some tips, such as taking care of the return address, may be important.
Program updates
It's also important to keep your company's programs up to date. Many people think that new versions just add features, but the truth is that they also have fixes for security flaws. Therefore, always use the latest version of your programs, especially those that access the internet (internet browsers, email clients, etc.). Many applications have a feature that automatically updates the program or notifies you of the release of new versions. It's a good habit to leave this feature turned on.
Has some type of monitoring or security software
It is a great option for anyone willing to invest money in order to control threats and keep the network safer. Companies that work with important data and are unable to monitor every employee in the company can opt for internet control . This type of solution helps the network to be more protected, and maintains control of what each employee is accessing within the corporate network. With this, the owner can manage and know whether the employee is not accessing harmful websites that could harm or put the company at risk.
Practice any of the tips mentioned above. Share your experience with us and wait for more internet security tips!
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