As our lives become more online, securing ourselves from hackers is becoming more important. Hackers are focused on two things: causing chaos and taking money. They take personal information and use it to initiate unauthorized charges against your accounts, or they can interfere with your business operations by using malware to cause attacks that cause denial of service or other issues.

There are a variety of ways to prevent cyberattacks. Most require little effort. Start by encrypting sensitive data that isn’t being transmitted via the internet (such as social security numbers of employees, routing digits of banks as well as other sensitive data). Install the full-disk encryption program that comes with the majority of operating systems. For Macs it’s FileVault. on PCs, it’s BitLocker.

Regularly update your software. Regularly update your software programs. Many hackers gain access to computers by using outdated programs. Updates fix these security holes, making it more difficult for hackers to penetrate your system and steal information.

Install a firewall on all your devices. Firewalls are network system designed to manage the incoming and outgoing data on your computer. Windows and macOS include a firewall built-in but it is suggested to utilize a third-party program to protect mobile devices as well as home networks.

Review your network and device names. Avoid using personal identifiers like your last name or your phone number in these names, as they can allow hackers to gain access to your data.

Be careful when discussing your work with other people. Even small details, such as where you grew up or the universityparkcarecenter.com/data-room-services-open-new-opportunities-for-business names of your pets could be used to help hackers gain access to security systems.