Hackers are very determined individuals who are drawn to hacking for a variety of reasons. Some are data thieves who want to steal your financial information for illicit gains. Some hackers may want to steal your identity, while others may simply want to cause chaos and disruption in the system. Whatever their motives for trying to hack into your computer network or system, there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of being hacked.
Selecting a strong password and changing it frequently is a good first step. One of the problems with creating multiple, long and always changing passwords is trying to remember them. Using a password management software application like LastPass makes things much more simple. LastPass allows you to keep your decrypted database on your devices as well as stored in the cloud. This useful app also allows you to use an automatic form filling feature and login and password completion tools. The app is available for users of Windows and OS X and has add-ons available for Internet browsers like Firefox, Chrome and Safari.
Dashlane is another great app which can be integrated with your web browser. The basic features are free but syncing passwords with different devices requires an upgrade to a premium account.
Some important things to keep in mind when creating passwords:
- Keep your password to a 12 character minimum. Longer is even better.
- Incorporate a mix of capital and lower-case letters as well as numbers and symbols.
- Don’t use real words or phrases.
- Don’t use obvious numerical substitutions for letters, like a zero for an O. That’s not as clever as you think and can be easily cracked.
- Make up fake answers to security questions and change them frequently.
Be smart, but never assume you are smarter than a hacker. These tips can be used for a home computer and even for small businesses that can’t afford a to hire full-time IT workers. It’s always a good idea to make sure you are using the current operating system and have all the latest malware and antivirus software installed.
AGT Computers provides IT support to both individuals and businesses in Blackpool, Lytham, and Preston. We can help you back up data, protect your network and keep you updated with the latest tools to prevent hacking. We are a Microsoft Silver Partner for Small and Midmarket solutions and can work with you to meet all of your personal computer or company’s IT needs.
