Protecting your online identity

Small businesses have so much to potentially lose in the event of a data breach. Whereas a larger corporation may have insurance and/or forgiving customers, smaller companies are far more vulnerable to the possibility of losing their business, their customers, and their credibility.

While one can never state that they are 100% confident they will never be breached, taking a layered approach will at least provide multiple deterrents.

Start with your pc:

1)      Changing the local administrator userid. To do this,

a.       Log onto the pc as the administrator

b.      Go to the Start Button and select Control Panel

                                                               i.      Go to User Accounts

                                                             ii.      Rename the Administrator Account.

2)      Disable the Guest account

a.       Log onto the pc as the new administrator account you’ve renamed

b.      Go to the Start Button and select Control Panel

                                                               i.      Go to User Accounts

                                                             ii.      Select the Guest Account

                                                            iii.      Select Turn Off

3)      Don’t use the administrator userid for everyday work purposes

a.       Create a standard user userid

b.      Log onto the pc as the administrator

c.       Go to the Start Button and select Control Panel

                                                               i.      Go to User Accounts

                                                             ii.      Select Create New Account

                                                            iii.      Type in the name of the account

                                                           iv.      Select Standard User

4)      Turn on Windows Update (this can occasionally create problems – confirm with vendors if you have customized software written that depends on certain settings that Windows Update could turn off or install. (An example is the version of Internet Explorer you are running).

a.       Log onto the pc as the administrator

b.      Go the Start Button and select Control Panel

                                                               i.      Select System and Security

                                                             ii.      Select Windows Update

                                                            iii.      Turn Automatic Updates on

5)      Use complex passwords and change your passwords every 60-90 days

a.       Complex passwords consist of a mixture of characters

                                                               i.      Use Lower and Upper alpha characters

                                                             ii.      Use at least one number

                                                            iii.      Use special characters

b.      The password should be at least eight characters but preferably more than ten

c.       Use a passphrase. Something like Iliveinflorida

d.      Perform a character replacement

                                                               i.      Instead of I, use the number 1

                                                             ii.      Always put an exclamation point at the beginning or endings of your phrase

                                                            iii.      Instead of O, use the number zero

                                                           iv.      Instead of an A, use the @ symbol

                                                             v.      Instead of an E, use the number 3

e.      Use different passwords for applications or web portals

6)      Maintain up to date Antivirus and Malware Software

a.       Purchase one that has a pc tune-up component and you’ll insure your pc’s will be more stable as well

b.      Monitor that virus updates are occurring and scans, both full and quick are taking place                        

7)      Be aware of who is accessing confidential, sensitive and/or customer data

a.       “Trust but confirm”

b.      Don’t “overshare” online – once something is out on the internet, it’ll never be private again

These are basics but they are the first step to creating a layered approach to securing your pc and therefore, your online identity.

The next blog will deal with internet browser settings.