Here are 4 safe computer practices that all businesses should use to minimize their risk online as well as offline. Whether your business is in Halifax, Dartmouth, Truro or elsewhere, you need to be smart about your safety. Let’s start with a real world example to get you thinking.
I had just gotten off from a Skype call with a friend of mine from the USA. They asked me to look at their blog. All their blog posts were gone. This looked like a serious problem. This person was pulling their hair out at this moment, so to speak. They were frantic. Unfortunately, they did not have a backup of the site. This was not a good place for them to be.
I was not sure if their website was hacked into or just damaged. We were not even sure if there was something wrong with the server, where the WordPress database was kept. As our conversation continued, I asked them to check with their web host. That would have been the best way for them to figure out what had happened.
My friend was using a WordPress website for business. It looked like they had just lost 60 different blog posts. This was turning out to be a major problem. This story brings up some key points for you and your business to consider.
(1) Firstly, you should use good passwords for all your online accounts, websites and applications. Unfortunately, there are a few people out there that are very dishonest and would love to steal from you. Using good passwords makes it hard for them to easily guess their way into your site.
So what makes up a good password? A good password should contain four of the following elements:
- A capital letter – A, B, C etc.
- A lowercase letter – a, b, c etc.
- A number – 1, 2, 3 etc, and
- A character, such as an asterisk ” * “.
Your password should have all these four elements to make it strong. Not sure if your password is strong? Google “Microsoft Password Checker” and test your passwords to see if they are strong. Here’s the link: Microsoft Password Checker.
(2) Secondly, if you forget your password and have to have it e-mailed to you, you need to change your password right away. That e-mail will be stored on several servers, along the way, until it is removed. Anyone could intercept that e-mail and find your password. So when you receive the new password, sign in and create a new password immediately. This is how many accounts are hacked into. Fortunately today, many password resets on done on secure websites; instead on being sent by email alone. Don’t email your password to anyone either.
(3) Thirdly, don’t use the same password for all the different sites you use. If someone gets access to that one password, they could have access to all your other sites. They can do a lot of damage to your finances, your reputation and your sanity. Imagine them pretending to be you, and engaging your friends with some nasty comments. So please have different passwords for different sites. This seems like a lot of hard work, but it will save you a lot of grief, by providing an extra layer of protection for you. Lastpass.com provides an easy way to keep several passwords stored in one safe place.
Here’s a video on what LastPass.com does. I am not an affiliate, I just like what they do:
(4) Lastly, when you’re leaving a secure site, such as your bank, you need to clear your computer cache. What does it mean to clear your web browser cache? You are you erasing any history and any information such as your password, cookies, form data, and other personal data from your web browser. You blast it out of your web browser.
When you do not clear your web browser cache and surf the Internet, information within your web browser can be seen by others who know how to retrieve it. Each web browser has its own specific instructions to clear the cache. Refer to the “Help” section of the browser for more information on how to clear your cache.
And by the way, my friend from California got all their WordPress blog entries back quickly. I could see their relief as they typed the words in the Skype comment box. This brings up one last point, a bonus point for you. Backup, backup, backup. Save it somewhere safe or lose it forever. I use a service called Backup Buddy. I recommend it for WordPress blogs. Again, I am not an affiliate. I just like what they do.
If you have valuable data or information on your computer or on a website, make sure you have a copy of it somewhere safe. It’s not funny when you lose vital data or information. It might be the final straw for your business. So make sure you backup your information and data on a regular basis.
Please share this info with your friends. It could save them some pain. If you have any questions, please type them in the comments box below or use the form on the Contact Us page.
So here’s to a great day in business for you.
