Measures to Strengthen Cyber Security

With the cobweb of cybercrimes digging their roots into every corner of the internet, and with data leakages and hacking becoming a daily affair. It is now more important than ever to strengthen cyber security from our end of the network, and to put measures into protecting our sensitive and personal information.

With that said, look no further, as here are few of the most inexpensive measures you can take to strengthen your personal and cyber security for business and make your networks penetration-proof!

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1. Strong and frequently changed passwords

• Check your login credentials and keep your passwords strong, that is, eight to twelve characters including alphanumeric values, capital and lower-case letters as well as special characters. Certain companies have already implemented this measure and hence, while creating an account itself, it is mandatory for you to enter a strong password with eight characters or more. Avoid the usage of personal information such as pet names or birthdates to form your passwords.

• It is advisable to keep different passwords for different accounts to refrain from any data leakages or being hacked.

• Also, the passwords should ideally be changed every 90 days. It is important to change the password rather than making a minute change in your former one as it is far easier for hackers to guess the passwords than one may have imagined.

• Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible. It means that the system will ask for a security action after you enter your password. It means that there will be an additional layer of security to your logins and accounts.

• Delete the accounts that are no longer in use to decrease vulnerability.

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2. Firewall and security software

• Firewall is a protective shield between your system and the internet. Hence, it is important to equip your system with a firewall to refrain from falling prey to viruses and malwares.

• Usage of anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spyware software will detect the spam, viruses and malwares and remove them from the system as soon as they are detected. These two steps reinforce the gatekeeping of your system.

• Installation and regular usage of intrusion detectors is another significant step as they generate alerts for you such as pop ups or e-mails as and when any suspicious activity is recorded.

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3. Software updates, safe surfing and awareness

• Frequent backing up of data and software ensures patching up the software vulnerabilities. Most of the data breaches and leakages occur because of the procrastinating in updating. Dealing with update pop-ups at an inappropriate time causes much lesser than the actual software damage.

• Opening links and mails from unknown sources is a big no-no! It can turn out to be a phishing attack and land you on a malicious site or page.

• It is advisable to not surf haphazardly and open sites that are spell-alikes of an original authenticated site.

• Try and read the policies, terms and conditions before you hit that ‘I Agree’ button right away to save time.

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Last, and most importantly, keep gaining knowledge and reading articles like such to stay updated on how to dodge the cyber security threats headed right towards you!