[Top 3] Ways to Secure Important Data

Alike the basic necessities of life, i.e., food, clothing and shelter, data is also a necessity in the present time. Be it an individual or a well established business firm, there is lots-and-lots of data to be stored for future use. But, only storing that information in huge databases is not enough! With so many unethical hackers out there, it is equally important to secure that data, and prevent it from falling in wrong hands. Use of a good VPN service is also recommended. Here, I discuss three useful tips to keep your valuable data safe.

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Firewall

Firewalls are necessary for network protection, as they control both incoming and outgoing internet traffic. There are firewalls for protecting single machines and for protecting the entire network. Obviously, corporate entities should deploy firewalls for their entire networks if they are to secure their data. This will protect their data from being corrupted or stolen by different types of malware such as worms. Apart from locking out unauthorized entries, firewalls can also be used to keep logs of attempted logins.

Some firms go a step further and setup their firewalls to raise alarms on detection of suspicious activities. Firewalls are available in different brands, and most of them are fairly useful in data protection. They are available both in hardware and software versions, and both can be customized to fit particular situations. For maximum protection, both of these versions of firewalls should be used.

Strong passwords

Using a strong password is the first step in securing important business data, and it is not that difficult to do. While the use of password protection is widespread, many firms do not take the necessary steps to choose the strongest ones possible. As a result, these passwords do not offer the data protection they should. One of the best ways of coming up with a strong password is to use a combination of symbols, numbers, upper-case as well as lower-case letters. In addition, a password should not be less than 8 characters long. A password should also be changed regularly, for example, every three months.

Things to avoid include words spelled backwards, personal data (for example, wife's birthday) and sequence of characters close together on the QWERTY keyboard. These are some of the things hackers try first when trying to break into secured systems. It is also good to assign each user a username and a password in shared systems. Finally, the practice of writing down password for easy recall should be totally avoided as it is very easy to have it fall into the wrong hands.

Regular Updates

System programs should be updated regularly and security patches installed. Almost all programs have updates, and in most cases these updates incorporate increased protections. After the release of a program, a security loophole may be noticed. Software vendors deal with these potential security problems differently. Some may release program updates while others prefer to release patches. It makes does not make any sense to have great software that are not updated as they are likely to cause security problems on companies' data. In fact, many IT security experts assert that an organization's databases are only secure as the organizations latest updates.

This is not to say that a software update provides one hundred percent protection; but it greatly increases the chances of malware or hackers tampering with a database. There are major system updates, minor updates as well as application updates. Before any update is carried out, an evaluation should be carried out to determine which form of update is necessary. Any necessary backups should also be done to minimize the risks of data loss during the update.