Secure Your Website Before Cyber-Criminals Do

Is your business website got target written all over it?

As too many business owners have unfortunately discovered over time, there sites are in fact sitting ducks for cyber-criminals.

When this happens, the sites can become infected with malware, compromised to the extent both the company and its customers are exposed, and eventually lose money.

If that doesn’t sound like a pleasant scenario to you and your business, what are you doing to avoid that from playing out?

Don’t Forsake Internet Security to Save a Few Dollars

One of the best ways to better secure your website is by putting in place the right Internet security software, something that does not have to cost you an arm and a leg.

When you install such software, your business is better protected against issues like downloaded malware, malicious websites, and identity theft just to name a few.

As great as security software is, it is also practical commonsense by you and your employees that can significantly decrease the odds of being hit.

Make sure you are deploying the following tactics:

• Office safety – Make it imperative to your employees that they quite frankly can’t be doing stupid things on the Internet. Face it, they are there to work. When some workers decide instead to surf the Internet, exchange downloaded images and copy, pass around usernames and passwords (see more below), you have yourself a recipe for disaster. Always put computer safety at the top of the importance list for both you and your staff. Whether you are a startup business or one that has been around for a long time, never think that you and your brand are immune to cyber-attacks;
  
  
• Prudent social media activities – Even though social media can be a fantastic online vehicle for your brand, it is also comes with some perils. Remind yourself and your employees that downloading questionable images or copy etc. is a no-no. If you can’t feel with 100 percent certainty that something is safe to download, by all means don’t do it. The same holds true when people ask your business for a follow or befriending on Twitter or Facebook. As a business owner, following and friending the right people/companies etc. is important enough. It then takes on added importance because you don’t want to subject yourself to a site that could ultimately be harmful to your social sites and/or your business website in general. Along with Internet safety, this is also a good time to go through and see which sites you are following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Do they make sense to follow or are you potentially making your brand look bad with certain follows? Above all else, focus-in on the security aspect;
  
  
• Log-in information must always be secure – Finally, what you do with your company’s log-in information can go a long way in determining whether you are very susceptible to a cyber-attack or minimal at best. Given that employees will typically have different log-in details, it is important that each worker keeps that information to his or her self, making sure they don’t share it with co-workers. If that information gets shared, there is potential for bad things to happen. While 29 out of your 30 employees may be honest and hard-working, the 30thmay not. If he or she gets access to customer data (personal/financial etc.), they could wreak havoc before anyone knows about it. It is also important when an employee leaves your business that his or her log-in information is changed right away (the same holds true for any outside independent contractors that have had access to customer and company data etc.). By doing this, you lessen the chances that an employee who was laid off or fired could cause trouble for you and your customers.

Today’s Internet world is a boon for so many businesses.

On the flip side of the coin, bad things can happen to those businesses not prepared to defend their online turf.

Make sure your business secures its website before cyber-criminals do.

You’ll appreciate it, but so too will all your customers when all is said and done.