Habits for a (cybernetically) safer year
It may seem unusual to talk about goals for the year when we are already on our way to the second quarter of 2019. But, as one of Intel's founders, Andy Groove, would say, this is a good time to review what has been achieved and what needs to be reassessed to achieve success for the remainder of the year. Simply put, it's time to review the key results that are necessary to achieve the goals.
If the success of a company is linked to the results obtained by the work of its employees, the improvement of their performance has a direct influence on the quality of the final product or service desired. For this reason, it is never too much to remind your users of some cybersecurity habits, which can help prevent viral infections in the machines, for example, ensuring an adequate performance to achieve the final goal.
For a (rest of) successful year, at corporate but also personal levels, I've been inspired by some articles and compiled four quick and easy online and offline behavior tips for diverse kinds of users.
1. Set limits.
Before any action in the virtual world, it is important to well establish how much of yourself you want to donate to this vast universe. What I mean is that, stipulating in advance what data you will provide to sites and applications, for example, is a habit that can save you from having personal information unnecessarily leaked by applications that don't even need a certain type of data to work properly.
This practice does not end with the provision of data, but you also need to determine how much time you will devote to the virtual world, which discussions and forums you will participate in, which accounts you need to create, among other things.
2. Block!
It is of no use to be cautious of the habit mentioned above if, when you need to leave your computer or mobile phone aside for a few minutes, you leave them unlocked. An unlocked device gives anyone quick and easy access to ALL the information you have provided for that device or for the virtual accounts to which it has access.
For mobile devices it is simple: press the on/off button on your device and it will be safe.
For computers it is also simple: press Windows + L key (if your computer runs this system) or Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select the "Block" option.
3. Monitor your accounts.
Always be on the lookout for signs of activity and movement in your virtual accounts. This includes social network accounts or even bank accounts that have the possibility of online transactions. Do not ignore alerts and notifications of remote access or different computer IP trying to access an account. If any application, software or website does this (as long as it's official) it's because it is trying to protect you from intruders!
In addition to constant monitoring, make sure your passwords are strong enough and that they are DIFFERENT from one account to another. Think that if you always use the same password and someone finds out, all your accounts and accesses will be vulnerable.
4. Manage your programs and applications.
Clean up your mobile device and computer, remove all programs and applications that you no longer use or do not use as often. This is important because this software often has permissions that leave our location or even personal identification exposed and, in the vast majority of cases, this data is sold to marketing companies that fill us with ads and spam.
Also, make sure the applications and programs you use are always up-to-date. Updating applications ensures that bugs and problems that developers notice are fixed, which improves a lot the security of these apps.
With these tips and others, which you can find on Perallis website, surely your online and offline workspace will be safer and your users will be more confident.
Translated from: https://www.perallis.com/news/habitos-para-um-ano-ciberneticamente-mais-seguro
