Are You Browsing Securely?
Despite the world’s best efforts to counteract viruses and malicious activity, the number of online threats is increasing. As companies become wiser to cybercrime and our technology develops, the bad guys learn new and crafty ways to trick us into handing over precious details or downloading malware. Unfortunately, it only takes one innocent mistake for a hacker to succeed in getting their paws on sensitive data. Today, we’ve rounded up three ways in which you can fortify your browser and protect your business against common online threats.
Block advertisements.
No one likes online ads. They’re annoying, distracting and seem to always blurt out loud from your speakers at the most inappropriate times.
Investing in an adblocking tool can not only help you to focus but also protect your team from malicious activity.
This is because – while adverts appear harmless – they can lead to you accidentally clicking through to an unsuitable website or one that’s teaming with malware. Meanwhile, most ads use processes that send your data back to a third party company.
Luckily, a lot of ad blockers out there are really simple to use and you can customise your preferences to suit your needs as a business.
Install a VPN.
VPNs encrypt your data and other important information about you, such as your IP address and location.
This is especially important when browsing the internet, even if you are using a secure Wi-Fi hotspot.
With a VPN, any information you put into a website is shielded away from prying eyes that may be lurking behind the scenes on unsecured websites and applications.
Clean up browser extensions.
Browser extensions are super handy – they follow you around the internet, allowing you to access your favourite apps on the go.
However, to offer their services, most extensions have to track your movements and data.
When was the last time you had a good clean up of the apps connected to your browser?
We’d recommend checking what you have connected and disconnecting what you don’t use while reviewing what apps can see your data.
If you want to prevent your extensions from collecting data, you can install a blocker.
Of course, using these three security measures won’t solve all of your cybersecurity woes. You may also want to look into investing in an internet – or web – filter, as well as bolstering your defences against malware with a quality antivirus.
Think of every security measure you have like a sieve. On their own, some things will slip through the gaps, but if you have multiple sieves layered up on top of each other, the chance of being affected by cybercrime is greatly reduced.
If you would like any more advice on reinforcing your business’ security, please get in touch with our IT support team right now.