Data Security

Another one that's important yet gets forgotten, data security. Quite important and certainly the one we hear the most about when CD's, USB drives, hardrives etc get left behind in taxis or on trains etc. Lets bring this into the personal environment however, and look at the security of our personal data within our own home.

Of course password protection is one way but that won't stop someone who is determined to do a smash and grab of your devices they will find ways of getting the data off and of course, anyone who has had data recovery done will know that some people will use the software maliciously. So we need to think about the physical security as well (lock and key is certainly useful here). However we don't need to go over the top to protect our data, just a few useful little bits will make it easy and secure.

My five top tips on this one really are:

1. Passwords - always use a password to protect your data it's a good barrier for when your computer is hacked
2. Don't leave personal data on cloud systems (like iCloud, OneDrive or Google Drive). You're not in control if the server gets hacked and you won't know what gets taken!
3. Keep your laptop or device safe - if you have a cabinet, keep it in there over night or when you go out. Don't advertise its presence
4. Avoid Linux and Windows on the same computer. This sounds a bit far fetched I know, but laptops dual booted with Ubuntu are quite insecure. From my experience, Ubuntu is quite good at breaking into Windows partitions and bypassing the need for passwords to access the files
5. Don't sync your data between devices. There's a whole post coming on this soon (stay tuned) but in short, the synced data can be intercepted!

Very simple and basic I know and easily considered but also, easily forgotten. Data is important to us all so keep these tips in mind and stay safe!

All the best
Ash

Security

An important issue, yet I see a lot of people who miss some very simple little bits that could increase the security of their computers and devices. It is important to keep systems and data secure to minimise the risk of having your personal data stolen by the hackers and the thieves. Believe me, if they spot the smallest flaw they will exploit it.

 

A few simple tips to reduce the risk then:

1. Change your passwords regularly. One you may hear a lot and yes its a pain to go through and change them every couple of months but, it keeps brute force attacks at bay. Particularly if you've got numbers and special characters (!@#£$%) in there.
2. Make sure you've got antivirus installed. It's not expensive, in fact there's some good freebies out there (AVG for a start). I've seen many computers with no antivirus installed at all. It's more important than some give it credit for.
3. Keep antivirus software updated. Every month at least, vendors release updates of virus definitions to update their software with. this helps keep you ahead of the game with the more recent viruses that crop up. Just like human viruses, computer viruses can mutate too!
4. Don't store you're passwords on your computer or written down. Again another simple one but it does happen. Not so long ago a well known game production company managed to lose a lot of these as they were not stored correctly for user accounts.
5. Finally...reduce the amount you use remember my password. It's a useful tool and even I'm guilty of using it but don't use it on everything you need a password for on every device you have. Especially devices you may use on the move. Public wifi is not as secure as home wifi and once a hacker has that password they've got your info.

These are some useful tips just to keep in mind to reduce the risk of being attacked or hacked by computers. These aren't completely tight and some viruses can fall through the cracks but the risk will be significantly reduced.

 

Many computer specialists, like ourselves, offer virus removal services if you think you may have a virus on your computer.

 

For more information visit our Virus Removal page for more information or contact us.

All the best
Ash