The internet is a profitable and fascinating place. From e-commerce sites to blogs, the opportunities are endless. You can do all sorts of things online: promote your brand, advertise, sell products, and generate leads.
All of this can be done on the world wide web. Now that you have discovered the joys of entrepreneurship and you want to start an online business, there is one thing you need to do right before that: avoid getting hacked. Protecting your online business is important. If you fail to do that, trouble will follow fast.
This article will help you by providing insights that they have learned through their trials and errors during the beginning stages of their online business.
Update Your Antivirus Software
Just like your computer, your website can become infected with malware or viruses. These are typically spread through phishing emails, and links users click on when they visit a website.
The good news is that most websites you use will have anti-virus software installed, which scans each page for malicious code and deletes it before it can infect your machine. However, if you don’t have an antivirus program installed on your computer or device, then you could be vulnerable to attacks from hackers or other malicious actors.
To protect yourself against viruses and malware attacks, ensure that you always have the latest antivirus software installed and sitelock website security on any devices that access your website or store customer information. This includes computers, smartphones and tablets—even smart televisions!
If possible, consider using a VPN to connect to the internet when using public WiFi networks such as those found in cafes or airports.
Use Firewalls To Protect Your Business
Firewalls are software or hardware systems that monitor traffic on a computer network. They’re designed to keep unauthorised users from a system, such as a website or other online service. Firewalls can also block malicious code, such as viruses and malware, from entering the system or spreading through it.
If you run an online business or have an e-commerce website, installing a firewall on your servers is especially important. That way, if someone attempts to attack your website with malicious code, the firewall will prevent it from happening.
Keep Your Operating System Up-to-Date
If you have a small business, you know how important it is to keep your computer up-to-date. And yet, most people don’t.
You don’t want to be someone who has not updated their operating system in years and still has a Windows XP computer running on your network. If you run a business online, this is particularly important.
The most important thing to do is ensure that your operating system is up-to-date. This can be done automatically if you have Windows 10. If you don’t have Windows 10, you will have to manually download the updates from Microsoft or Apple and install them yourself.
It’s also important that all of the software on your computer (including browsers) is up-to-date with security patches and bug fixes in the latest versions released by companies like Google, Mozilla and Microsoft.
Secure Your Mobile Devices
Your mobile phone and tablet are likely to be one of the most vulnerable parts of your business. If they get hacked or stolen, it could have a significant financial and reputational impact on your business.
In addition to keeping your devices safe from physical theft, you should also ensure they are secure against cybercrime. Here’s how:
- Use unique passwords for each account — and ensure they’re not easy to guess (e.g., birthdays or other personal information). Use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password to help you manage these passwords (they’ll generate strong ones for you and keep them all in one place).
- Be cautious about what you click on — especially if it looks like it’s from an official source (e.g., an email from your bank asking you to click on a link within the email). Don’t open attachments unless you know what they are and who sent them.
- If your device is lost or stolen, report it immediately so that no unauthorised people can access sensitive data on it (and so that any apps can be deleted from the device).
- Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible (e.g., when logging into accounts).
Stay Safe!
Just as it’s important to be familiar with the policies of your web host, it’s good to know who else is sharing the load when it comes to security. Don’t forget that there are other IT experts in the mix looking after your system as well. So, as long as you have a solid security plan in place and you’re vigilant, you should be able to keep your website safe. The same goes for any information that could compromise a client or customer.
