Computer and network security: everyone knows they should be doing it better, but no one really knows all the best ways to do it. Believe it or not, everyone agrees on the single most effective way to keep your computer safe: don’t use a computer. Since that’s not practical, here’s what computer security professionals actually do to secure their own machines.
Take Online Security Seriously and Respond Quickly
Panera Bread famously failed to address a massive user data breach for eight months, exposing customers’ names, addresses and email addresses. Whether it’s public relations, data security, or productivity, there’s never been a more important time to take digital security seriously.
Update Your Software — Now, Not Later
It’s easy to click ‘Remind Me Later’, but software updates exist because a team of programmers patched something — often a security loophole. Read the release notes, check the forums for reported issues, and weigh the risk before updating — but don’t skip it.
Be Miserly With Permissions
The Principle of Least Privilege asks how few permissions each user really needs. Think of your network like a house: if every room has a locked door and valuables are in a safe, a break-in in one room doesn’t expose everything else. Restrict access carefully, based on need.
Prepare for the Worst: Do Your Backups
Ransomware, environmental disasters, even simple burglary can make your data unreachable. Backing up essential files to a geographically separate location can mitigate most of these failures.
Update software, back up your data, and restrict user access — those three steps alone can save a company hundreds of hours and real money. When asked what they do to secure their own machines, most security professionals give the same answer: not enough. You can always do more — get started today.
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