How to Keep Your Network Safe

Maintaining the security of your business’s IT network safe isn’t an easy feat. Securing your network is a process requiring time and dedication even for those entrenched in the IT world. Doing it well on top of your everyday tasks can be daunting at best and fatal for your business at worst. Moreover, the sophistication of today’s hackers leaves no one’s system—not even your home computer—safe from threats.

To avoid these ongoing threats, consider the following tips to keep your business network safe.

Use encryption – Data that is encrypted requires a key or password to decode information, making it the most effective way to secure your network. At the very least, ensure that your Internet network has Wi-Fi Protected Access II encryption, the most up-to-date protocol, to eliminate the likelihood of a breach.

Change access passwords – When considering how to keep your network safe, also consider how conspicuous your passwords are. Of course, certain team members—if not all of them—will need to know your accessibility password. However, administrative passwords, where applicable, should be restricted. Also, if you notice too many users on your network and your bandwidth begins to suffer, consider changing your password and reinforcing its confidentiality to employees with whom it is shared.

Scan your system regularly – The point of malware and spyware is for it to remain undetected on your network in order to do as much damage to your system as possible. So, unless you take the time to regularly look for these programs, you won’t be able to detect their presence. Scanning your system will unveil viruses and spyware on your network, while scanning the ports will inform you of any accessibility issues. It’s recommended to scan your network on a daily basis to ensure security. This is ideal for outsourcing, since a trusted IT partner—like Infomax—will ensure this gets done regularly, whereas in-house staff might push system checks to deal with pressing issues.

Choose a smart SSID – Simply put, the Service Set Identifier (SSID) is the name of your Wi-Fi connection. Remember that this name will appear on a list that is available to anyone attempting to find a Wi-Fi network to join within a certain physical distance of your company. Naming your network after your company in any way provides an easy way for hackers to identify your network. A simple name like Wireless1 or WIFI1 strips your SSID of any company-related identifiers, adding an easy layer of security to your network.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the weight of keeping your network safe or you’d like more information on protecting your IT systems, contact Infomax today!