More people than ever are using computers, the internet and other devices that utilize online services as part of their daily lives or for work. While most people think that they are safe online, they are not, and even the smallest businesses or individuals are just as big a target as the largest corporations.
Very necessary steps must be taken in order to ensure online safety and protect your data, identity and even children from malicious attacks that can end in tragedy and disaster. Not only are bank accounts targeted, but entire identities can be stolen, lives can be ruined and vulnerable people such as children and the elderly can be manipulated.
Fortunately, there are easy measures you can take, including:
- Managed IT
- Password Manager
- VPN
Managed IT services can provide excellent all-round protection and backup while password managers can provide extra layers of security and a VPN can make it almost impossible for your data to be intercepted while assuring anonymity, to a degree.
All Round Protection
When it comes to complete online safety, a managed IT service can help with many modern concerns. Hackers target everyone, not just large corporations and managed It companies are among some of the best that can provide excellent cybersecurity services. Cybersecurity includes such things as malware and virus protection, software and hardware updates and security maintenance.
The Essential 8 guide is a comprehensive overview of all the protections and strategies you or your managed IT service should have in place, While cybersecurity is an excellent tool against malicious intent, managed IT services also extend their services to such things as data backup, cloud services and server maintenance, all of which are vital when it comes to online security. Even if you are a small business, or indeed an individual, you can benefit from managed IT since, in the UK alone, one small business is hacked every 19 seconds.
One Pass to Rule them All
When it comes to online safety, the proper maintenance of passwords becomes necessary the more you use online services for your business. Since the best practice is to use a different and complex password for every site you use, it becomes impossible to remember every password and storing them in a text file is not recommended.
Password managers such as LastPass can store all of your credentials for every site you need it to and can even generate 128 characters, extremely complex passwords for you. All you need to do is create one password that you can remember for the purpose of logging in and using a password manager app. While web browsers such as Firefox and Chrome have their own password managers, they typically aren’t as good as a complete password management package.
Stay Hidden, as is Your Right
The use of the Virtual Private Network has become more prolific over the past couple of years since more and more people are recognizing the importance of online safety. A VPN can essentially hide your identification so as to make it extremely difficult for hackers to identify you and therefore obtain any personal data, but you should be aware that a VPN isn’t a one size fits all solution to online privacy.Essentially your web traffic and IP address can be obscured which makes it very difficult for anyone, including your internet service provider, to monitor what you have been browsing, which should be remembered is private. Data is rerouted through dedicated servers before it reaches your computer and the data is also encrypted using the best techniques with reputable VPN providers.
