As more and more of our lives move online, securing ourselves from hackers is becoming more important. Hackers have two goals: creating chaos and taking cash. They obtain personal information and then use it to create unauthorized charges against your accounts, or they can disrupt your business by using malware to trigger denial of service attacks or other issues.
There are a variety of methods to protect yourself from cyberattacks. Most of them don’t require a lot of effort. Begin by encryption data that’s not transmitted via the internet (that includes employee social security numbers or bank routing digits and other sensitive data). Enable full-disk encryption that are included in the majority of operating systems: For PCs, it’s called BitLocker For Macs it’s FileVault.
Regularly update your software. Many hackers gain access to computers through exploiting weaknesses that are present in outdated software. Updates fix these security holes, making it more difficult for hackers to gain access to your system and steal information.
Install a firewall on all your devices. Firewalls are networks designed to control the flow of and outgoing data that is stored on your computer. Windows and macOS have built-in firewalls but it is suggested to employ a third-party application to protect mobile devices and home networks.
Review your device names and name of your network. Avoid using personal identifiers, such as your last name, or your phone number in these names. This could give hackers easy access to your data.
Be cautious about discussing your work in public. Even minor details, such as the place where you grew up, or the names of your pets, can be used to help hackers breach security systems.