A Timely Reminder
Posted on October 8, 2010
It’s amazing to see the lack of security when it comes to Small Business networks when I’m out and about. This article warns about the risk once the up and coming NBN is established.
However, even at today’s internet speeds, hackers can do a lot of damage to your network if not properly secured. The loss of confidential information (and maybe legal recourse), downtime etc can and do outweigh the costs of securing your computers. Now that remote access is becoming more common (working from home but still able to access the office computer), the risks of potential unauthorized access are increasing, businesses need to assess this risk and be proactive – making sure that they have adequate procedures (both hardware and software) in securing their computer network.
The average, run of the mill internet modem that your ISP throws at you will not cut it, unless it is properly configured, SETUP with a password, even then that maybe not enough! 80% of client’s modems that I have worked on – there is either no password or the default password is used!
TIPS
1 – CHANGE THE DEFAULT PASSWORD
2 – USE A STRONG PASSWORD – a combination of letters and numbers and preferably symbols at least 6 (8 or more is better) characters in length.
3 – CHANGE THE USER-NAME – If possible change the default user-name from “admin” to something more uncommon.
4 – UPDATE – Most modem/routers can be set to upload updated firmware (the software that runs/controls the device) – on a regular basis, check to see if your modem has the latest update.
These four tips are very easy and quick to implement and may just save your business!
However if your business does use some sort of remote access, I strongly suggest upgrading your modem/router that has either SSL or VPN features which is designed for that purpose.
Anyone who has used our Remote assistance, has used these security protocols, probably without actually knowing it, so if properly integrated, work seamlessly within your network. Some of these UTM routers (Unified Threat Management) also integrate other services such as content filtering, spam filtering etc – See this post
Be proactive and stay safe on the net!
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