If your business runs on a computer network, it is essential that you protect your business' network. You don't want someone to hack into your business's network. If your business network gets hacked, you could lose important business information and your ability to run your business could be crippled. Here are three easy ways you can increase the protection level of your business computer.
Upgrade Your Operating System
If you are still running Windows XP or Windows 7, now is a great time to install a new operating system on your computer. Windows XP was released on August 24th, 2001, making it 15 years old. Windows 7 was released on July 22nd, 2009, making it 7 years old. It is time to upgrade to Windows 10, the latest system from Windows. It has been out for over a year now, so many of the bugs and glitches that made you shy away from upgrade have been ironed up.
It is best to switch to the latest version of Window's operating system because that is the operating system that Windows is most actively supporting. This is the system they will be releasing the most patches and security updates for. If you want to keep your business's information safe, you need to upgrade your operating system.
When you upgrade, make sure you upgrade to Windows 10 64-bit operating system, instead of the 32-bit Windows 10 operating system. The 64-bit system is a little more difficult to hack.
Upgrade Your Office Software
You also need to upgrade your office software. If you are using an older Office program, such as Office 2000 or Office 2003, you need to upgrade. These older versions of Office are saved in a binary file format. Malicious computer code can easily be attached to these documents and can attach your computer when you open a file. I
Instead, upgrade to a more recent version of office that uses XML file formats. These file formats are harder to corrupt. Any version of Office after 2007 will provide you with this level of protection.
Make Sure You Are Working From A Standard User Account
Make sure that you create two accounts for all the computers in your office. When you set up any new computer, the default user account that is created is an administrative account. If you do not change the name on the primary user account, you'll notice that your account is labeled "Administrator". An administrative account has special privileges to access and modify a computer's hardware, software and system configurations. Administrative accounts are also always password protected. This is the type of account a hacker wants to be able to gain access to because it allows them the privileges they need to infiltrate your system.
Administrative accounts should only be used for the tasks that they are specially set up to handle. All of your regular work on the computer should be done through a normal user account. When you set-up your computer, you can create a normal user account for yourself, complete with a password. Based on what version of Microsoft you are running on your computer, this account may be labeled as a standard or guest account. This account allows you to do everything you would need to do on your computer for business, such as check e-mail and create Microsoft Word and Excel documents. However, you can't install hardware or software from this account or make major system configurations.
Using a standard or guest account will help protect your computer from hackers. If a hacker gains access to your account when you are using a standard or guest account, they only have the rights that you as a user do to your account. That means that they can't add or install outside software, malware or viruses on your computer since you don't have those types of rights with the account you most regularly use online and that a hacker is most likely to access. If you do all of your business work via your administrative account, and a hacker gains access to your account, they will be able to change how your computer is configured and will be able to easily install software or malware on your computer. Using a standard or guest account protects you from this.
Save your administrative account for making configuration changes to your entire system and for installing new hardware and software on your computer. Do all of the rest of your computer business through a standard user account.
The best way to keep your business network and computers safe is to make sure that you are using the latest operating systems and software; older operating systems and software are easier for hackers to break through and obtain your vital business information. To learn more, contact a company like Advanced Business Systems.
