In the online world we live in, security is a key consideration for many business owners
Navigating the online world, remembering a myriad of passwords and keeping our important information safe can sometimes seem like a minefield.
MyTrucking head of development, Ivan Bozich says online security encompasses everything that relates to protecting your privacy from would-be cyber attackers who want to steal this information and use it to cause you or your business harm.
To help avoid this, the MyTrucking team has some helpful tips and tricks for protecting your information and passwords online.
1. Keep things private
Make sure you don’t share personal information like your address, date of birth and phone numbers.
Keep passwords and pins safe. Don’t have them on your device, or write them down anywhere, there are many people that have them on a sticky note beside their keyboard!
A good approach for passwords is to choose a long phrase that’s easy to remember, and is personal to you. A minimum of 16 characters will slow down would-be hackers enough that most will lose interest and go onto others who have a less secure password.
Try not to reuse passwords and consider a password manager like LastPass. It will keep your passwords safe, and is easy to refer to if you forget them. Use 2 factor authentication if you can.
2 Lock your devices
Make sure you set up PIN, passwords and/or biometrics on your laptops, tablets and mobile phones, and lock them when you’re not using them. Do the same for all your online accounts to protect any information about you that has been shared in them (e.g. Google, banks, Netflix).
3. Don’t share
Everything you do online leaves a story of what you do and say, and usually this can never be fully removed. A good approach is to think very carefully before you post anything, and yes, this includes things like posting to Facebook that you’re on holiday overseas. You may not be able to stop your friends or other people sharing it innocently – even to those you don’t know.
Hackers and identity thieves are very clever at piecing together information from many very innocent sources to suddenly have a clear picture of who you are, where you bank, what services you use, your date of birth and address, your preference for online shopping etc.
4. Keep up to date
Keeping all of your devices up to date with current application versions and software upgrades means you are best protected with the latest ways to stop hackers accessing your data. Vulnerabilities are found all the time, and they can only be fixed if you do your updates.
5. Backup with devices and data
Don’t forget to back up your personal data on your devices. This is extra important for mobile devices and tablets should you lose them and can’t recover what you had. Cloud-based secure backup services such as Apple’s iCloud, Microsoft’s OneDrive or DropBox work very well.
If you have a backup, you probably won’t need it – but no backups will almost guarantee you will need it! Using Cloud-based apps like MyTrucking and Xero allows the experts to look after it for you.
6. When using a Software as a Service (SaaS) product
Have a unique user sign-on for each person – don’t share.
Having a separate user profile and login for each user means you can easily remove someone if they leave the business too.