Key Personal CyberSecurity Tips

Anti-virus (AV) protection software has been the most prevalent solution in the fight against malicious attacks.

Fremont, CA: As we have seen from the above statistics, ransomware attacks were a major attack vector for both businesses and consumers in 2017. One of the most important cybersecurity tips for alleviating ransomware is patching out-of-date software, both operating systems and applications. This helps to remove critical vulnerabilities that hackers use to access your devices. Here are a couple of quick tips:

The Anti-Virus Protection and Firewall

Anti-virus (AV) protection software has been the most prevalent solution in the fight against malicious attacks. A firewall helps to screen out hackers, viruses, and other malicious activities that occur over the Internet and determines which traffic is allowed to enter users’ devices. Windows and Mac OS X come with their respective firewalls, which are properly named Windows Firewall and Mac Firewall. One’s router should also have built-in firewalls to prevent attacks on their network.

Two-factor or Multi-Fact Authentication

Two-factor or multi-factor authentication is a service that adds additional layers of security to the standard online identification password method. If one does not have two-factor authentication, they would normally enter a username and password. But, with a two-factor, you would be asked to enter one additional authentication method, such as the Personal Identification Code, another password, or even a fingerprint. With multi-factor authentication, one should be prompted to enter more than two additional authentication methods after entering their username and password.

Backup Data Regularly

Backing one’s data on a regular basis is an overlooked step in personal online security. The top IT and security managers follow a simple rule called 3-2-1 backup rules. Essentially, one will keep three copies of their data in two different types of media (local and external) and one copy in an off-site location (cloud storage). If a person becomes a victim of ransomware or malware, the only way to restore their data is to delete their systems and restore it with a backup recently performed.