How Businesses Can Protect Themselves From Getting Hacked

Computer systems are likely the most valuable assets that businesses possess. They store confidential data about clients, personal employee records, financial information and trade secrets. Because information technology is so important in today’s business world, companies should take extra steps to protect themselves from hackers.

Update Your Antivirus Software

This may seem like a simple idea, but many small businesses forget to update their antivirus software. Update checks should be run on a monthly basis to ensure that your computer systems are fully protected.

Back Up All of Your Data

Data backup is important for those rare instances when your network may be hacked. The hacker may maliciously hack into your computer and destroy all of your files. In these instances, you need to reboot from a backup disk.

Lockup Your WiFi

People steal wireless internet all the time. It’s as easy as searching for a network and making a connection. Some hackers may potentially look for networks that are unsecured to hack as an easy target. Don’t leave your network door wide open.

Use a Dedicated Server

While they may be more expensive, dedicated servers can save you from a large amount of headaches.

A dedicated server means that your business is the only one that is connected to that particular server. You have total control over what’s stored there, and dedicated server security is much better when compared to shared servers.

Notify Your Employees

Knowledge is power and your employees need to know how much trouble a hacker can cause.

Sometimes, hackers will send malicious emails to businesses with an attachment. At times, it’s hard to decipher which emails are okay to open and which need to be dragged to the trash.

A good rule of thumb is to delete any emails which come from an unknown source. Downloading an attachment which is infected with a virus may give hackers the access they need to do major damage to your business’s computers.

Change Passwords

One of the best deterrents against hackers is to change passwords on a semi-annual basis. This will help prevent hackers from using a password over and over again.

Changing the password means that the hacker will need to work a lot harder to access confidential files on your computer and may give up.

Firewalls

Aside from the basic firewall that is automatically setup on every computer station, firewalls should be installed on all network servers. When it comes to networking, redundancy is very important; firewalls are no different.