Have you heard of digital hygiene? Also known as cyber hygiene, it refers to routine end-user practices to protect against cyber threats. According to Norton, over 2,200 cyber attacks occur each day. While some of them target large Fortune 500 companies, others target small businesses and their respective employees. With good digital hygiene, you can protect your business from malware and other cyber threats.
Leverage a Password Manager
Assuming you don’t already use one, you should leverage a password manager. Password managers are apps that, as the name suggests, are designed to manage your passwords. You can use them to automatically generate and store passwords for all your accounts. When stored, your passwords will be encrypted, thus giving you peace of mind knowing that they can’t be accessed by nefarious individuals.
Delete Unnecessary Data
Deleting unnecessary data promotes good digital hygiene. Nearly all businesses store data. Even if you operate a local business, such as a retail store, you’ll probably store data in the form of customers’ and vendors’ information. If you no longer need a specific set of data records, though, you should delete it. Keeping the data recordset will only increase the risk of cyber threats.
Enable MFA
A strong password alone isn’t always enough to protect accounts from breaches. Passwords can be hacked with brute-force attacks in which a hacker spams a seemingly endless combination of characters. For better digital hygiene, you may want to enable multifactor authentication (MFA). MFA is a cybersecurity process that requires the use of an additional piece of information to log in to an account. Along with entering a password, for instance, you may have to enter a PIN that’s sent to your email address or mobile device.
Enable Automatic Updates
You can improve your digital hygiene by enabling automatic updates. Most types of software require updating. When a new version of a software product is released, you’ll need to update it to that version. Depending on the specific type of software, however, you may have the option of enabling automatic updates. Automatic updates will perform updates automatically. As a result, the software will always be up to date and, thus, better protected from cyber threats.
Scan for Malware
Don’t forget to scan for malware. You should scan your computer, as well as any other devices that you use, for malware on a regular basis. There are different types of malware. Some of them run in the background while logging keystrokes or otherwise recording data. Others work by locking files or deleting files. For good digital hygiene, scan your computer and other devices for malware on a regular basis.
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