Cyber Security – What can you do?

As important as ensuring your physical data is kept secure through a paper shredding service, digital data security needs to be managed. Everything in today’s world is online from business to leisure. Most of our days are spent connected to some network or another, in front of one screen or another. Data is our most valuable resource. For a business data is customer information which needs to be protected. Why would anyone choose to frequent a business or establishment that has zero ability to keep their information safe and secure? There are a number of things that can be done in order to ensure that this is achieved. Some may seem obvious and simple but may be the difference between success and failure.

1.      Firewall & Virus Protection

Always have a strong firewall and virus protection on your computers and devices that connect to the internet. A hacker is a person who uses computing devices to gain unauthorised access to data. If a hacker breaks through any defences you have, they not only will have access to what you do or say online but also to every file on your PC and every keystroke you make.

2.      Strong Passwords

Passwords should not be obvious and the best passwords are random letters and symbols. They shouldn’t be written down anywhere. It is also recommended to use a different password for every account or device you use. However, remembering all these random letters and symbols can be impossible for most people, password managers are useful in this situation. They pose their own risks too however.

3.      Avoid Public Wi-Fi

If at all possible do not use public Wi-Fi. It is not secure enough. When out and about its best to have Wi-Fi switched off on your phone, some phones scan for Wi-Fi networks even when it seems to be switched off so make sure your settings are all correct. However, bringing your laptop to Starbucks and conducting business can be comfortable and convenient on the go. If you really must use public Wi-Fi try to find a good VPN. A VPN will allow you to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if you are directly connected to your private network.

4.      Share less on Social Media

Sharing personal information on social media is a sometimes overlooked method of staying secure. While you may not post things such as your home address or personal email address, depending on your settings you may be revealing all of this information without even realising. Check your settings on whatever platform you use and make sure all your privacy settings are up to the standard you require.

5.      Hard-Drive and Media Destruction

Even when you have deleted a file or an app on your phone or PC that information still exists. Hard drives are recoverable even when they have been completely wiped. When you are destroying data devices formatting them just won’t cut it. Old and unused data devices should be destroyed through a hard-drive shredding service. Security in Shredding provide a nationwide Hard-Drive shredding service. This will cover the destruction of most media devices; phones, hard-drives, USB sticks, CD’s, floppy discs etc. Just throwing these out as they are will make you vulnerable.

Protecting your online privacy – Top tips (Part 2 of 2)

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As mentioned in our previous article, information in paper form can be destroyed through an onsite paper shredding service Ireland or an in-house onsite paper shredding facility.

Reputable paper shredding companies with the required certifications can also provide offsite document shredding services where your paper data is released to be destroyed under contract. The key points here are that the vendors providing the offsite paper shredding service have the required certifications and you have agreed under contract for the data to be processed which is the actual paper shredding process.

When talking about releasing personal paper files for offsite paper shredding the majority of people will always be concerned with whom they are giving the data to however when the data is in digital form and communicated through the internet the same level of caution does not always be applied.

Our first five tips to protect yourself online were;

  1. Do not give your info away inadvertently
  2. Use cookie management software
  3. Have a specific email account
  4. Do not share with unknown people
  5. Study privacy policies

In this article we will list our final five tips on protecting yourself online.

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#1.          Be aware of potential monitoring at work

In many Countries employees have little to no privacy protection from their employers. With this in mind, when discussing sensitive topics in email be sure of whom you are communicating to. Keep private data on your home network at home.

#2.          Be aware of rewards & prizes offered by sites.

More than likely these kind of sites are gathering information for direct marketing purposes. In this scenario your name and address s sold for marketing purposes.

#3.          Be conscious of your home computer security

If you home computer is set up on a DSL line that runs 24 hours be sure to turn off your computer when not using it. Many PCs will have poor security levels and system hackers will search for vulnerable computers and can invade them and get into your files and personal details.

#4.          Use encryption

Good encryption will utilise security codes that are difficult crack and protect your data. There are easy to use mail and file encryption services available out there. Hopefully all devices will come with security encryption built into their servers, until then, be aware and be safe.

#5.          Never reply to spammers

These Spam messages also known as unsolicited bulk email need to receive a response to tell their system that this email is being used. If you end up opening one of these messages check to see if there is anything in your outgoing box in case there is a return receipt attached to the mail. If you are getting spammed there are a great deal of filters and anti-spam services available out there.

Awareness if key, receive some education and proceed with caution are the best tips to have. Technology is every advancing and with it you also need to evolve, increase your knowledge and you will be in a safer position.

For more information on online security or confidential paper shredding service Ireland please contact one of our team on info@securityinshredding.com.

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