What Keeps You Up At Night?

More frightening than zombies, sneakier than ghosts, scary things lurk on our computers. October is National Cybersecurity Month, and North Star NP has help for you.

Scammers never sleep, and they continue to find new ways to steal your identity, hack your private information, and scam money from you, your company, and your families.  Effective protections include hardware like a network firewall; software like virus protection, and brainware—that is, awareness and education.

Learn

The Identity Theft Resource Center http://www.idtheftcenter.org/ has advice and tips for avoiding cyber danger. Their list of current scams makes fascinating reading. Did you know that Individuals who are looking to buy dogs online are being targeted by scammers? ITRC also helps if you have been a victim of identity theft. Another excellent resource is Scam Detector http://scam-detector.com/. In addition to an app for your cell phone, their website has a lot of information

Load

Virus protection is a must, and it needs to be kept current. We have looked at a variety of alternatives, and North Star NP recommends AVG http://www.avg.com/us-en/homepage. The free version includes security for your computer and email, and the paid version provides anti-spam and a firewall, among other features.

Install

If you have a network, North Star NP recommends that you have a firewall to help prevent unauthorized access to your computer. Most network routers have firewall capabilities built in, and those features should be turned on. Additionally (and especially if you work from home or public places like libraries and coffee shops), you should make sure your computer has its own firewall turned on. Many anti-virus programs provide firewall protection as well, but both Macs and PCs have a system firewall that can be turned on. Here are some links:

Windows 8: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-firewall-from-start-to-finish

Windows 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-windows-firewall-on-off#turn-windows-firewall-on-off=windows-7

OS X: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201642

Act

You don’t have to do it alone. Contact North Star NP for network monitoring, email security setting, and up-to-date virus software at an affordable price. Can you afford to NOT be protected?