Take a Byte out of Cyber Crime

adtadmin November 20, 2014

                      … State Department, USPS, US Weather Service…Target…

How to take a Byte out of Cyber Crime

Some of this you’ve heard before… yet still, many of you are doing things that will eventually get you hacked, your bank account emptied, and your client/personal private information stolen!  READ it AGAIN… this time, Do something!

Here are the top 7 Things you can do to help stop the Hackers! Chinese-hacker

  1. Strong Passwords – Low Hanging Fruit.  Get a password manager, and use it.  I use Password Safe.  See our previous article, “actiondatatel.com/creating-secure-passwords-matter”. Quit leaving the passwords written on a sticky note and stuck to the monitor!
  1. Updates / patches.  Microsoft updates need to be managed… So do third party applications. Adobe Reader, Flash, Java, Chrome, Firefox… the list goes on.  80% of all security breaches are the result of known (Fixable) vulnerabilities.  Apple products are NOT exempt from hackers.
  1. DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS OR CLICK ON LINKS IN EMAILS!!!! Yes we put links into emails.  So do the crooks!  You should always copy and paste them into a browser so you can look to see where they are actually going to take you BEFORE you click GO!  Use this website to check for a “Phishing Email Link” phishtank.com – Type phishtank.com into your web browser.  Then, copy and paste a link from an email to test the evilness of that link.  DISCLAIMER – Nothing is 100%!
  1. If some joker calls you on the phone claiming to be from “Windows Support” or Microsoft, DO NOT give them access to your computer.  Yes, it’s a SCAM.
  1. Get a subscription to a good Anti-Virus.  Keep in mind, Anti-Virus is NOT ENOUGH! You need to do ALL these things, and others too!  Free anti-virus programs are free.  You get what you pay for.
  1. Find a trustworthy IT company to manage computer and network security for you.  Unless you have a lot of time on your your hands to learn about computer and network security, you can’t do it yourself.  We use computers to do the managing of computers and security.  It is the only way to really keep track of what’s going on with your systems.
  2. A good operational security plan is an investment in your future.  Until you realize and accept that IT Security needs to be in your budget and that it’s just a part of doing business, your systems are going to continue to be vulnerable! I know that sounds harsh, but it’s true.

5005020_sThe last thing we want is for someone we know (or don’t know) to get hacked by a cyber-thief.

If YOU don’t stop, look, listen and take decisive action… it’s inevitable.  They will find you.

Together we can “Take a Byte out of Cyber Crime”.  It will take all of us being aware and prepared to make it so. Teamed up, we can eat this Cyber Elephant one Byte at a time.

                                 Vison without Execution is just Hallucination!