During the holiday season, there’s a lot of data being exchanged between businesses and consumers so there are more opportunities for cybercrime. Whether you are in business or you’re a consumer, you need to be aware and know how to avoid risks.
Browse Safely
The Internet is a fantastic resource for the savvy shopper, but make sure that you browse as securely as possible. Make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date and activated and practice good password hygiene and strength. Here are some other measures you can take to help keep the holidays merry, bright, and cyberattack-free.
Browse Intelligently
Take a look at the top of your page. The bar where the website’s URL appears should have a locked padlock somewhere in it, indicating that the website is secure and that any data or credit card information you input is protected by encryption.
Another thing: don’t use public Wi-Fi for shopping. As convenient as a free connection may seem, it isn’t worth your data getting infected.
As a Business
The holiday season is a field day to hackers. This is their favorite time of year to throw everything they’ve got against your business. This makes it crucial for every business to have the best network security policies in place.
These policies should address a couple things, the first of which is to ensure that all your security software programs are activated and updated.
Update and Install All Patches
Whether it’s your antivirus, your remote access solution, or anything in between, your entire network needs to be maintained and kept up-to-date. Any patches that have been released for your solutions should also be applied.
Get the Team Onboard
Your users also need to play a role in your cybersecurity plan. When the holidays get close there is always an increase in holiday-themed scams and phishing attempts. A few simple lessons in best practices will help to keep your users aware of these scams and how to prevent them. Anyone with network access should also be required to authenticate their identity multiple times through various means.
Sound like something you don’t have time to prioritize? That’s why we do what we do at Quikteks. Give us a call at (973) 882-4644 and have a stress-free holiday this year.