Common Network Security Mistakes

Have you ever been scammed or had a computer virus take over your system. You're left wondering: “how the heck did this happen to me”? You thought you had followed all the standard advice on securing your network and computer, but you still ended up with a security breach or malware infestation.

Here Are 5 Common Network Security Mistakes You Might Be Making:

1. You're Not Using Strong Encryption On Your Wireless Network
Are you scratching your head because hackers broke into your network, even though you had wireless encryption enabled? You may have been using encryption, but you might have been using the outdated and highly vulnerable Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption. WEP was cracked years ago and hacking a WEP-encrypted network is now trivial, due to a proliferation of easy to use WEP hacking tools. Even a novice hacker can break into a WEP-based network.
The Solution: replace your network's WEP encryption with Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2). WPA2 is a much more robust wireless protection method and is the current standard for “secure” wireless networks. Some older routers may be too old to support an upgrade to WPA2 while others can be upgraded via a firmware update. Check your router manufacturer’s support page for your specific router to see if it supports WPA2.

2. Your Passwords Aren’t Strong Enough

A weak password can be a hackers gateway into your network, your system, and your online
accounts. Increased computing power has decreased the amount of time it takes for password cracking tools to crack a password.

You need to make your passwords as long, complex, and random as possible. Avoid use of dictionary words in your password as cracking tools test for these. Having one embedded in your password will help the tool find your password much quicker than if it had random characters in it.

Check out our article on How to Create a Strong Password for tips on composition.

3. Your System Doesn’t Have The Latest Security Patches

Hackers love to find systems with unpatched vulnerabilities because they can be exploited with specially crafted attacks that take advantage of the unpatched weakness. OS vendors are constantly detecting new threats in the wild and developing security patches to close the holes.

Most OSes feature a set-and-forget “auto update” capability that will automatically download and apply the latest security patches on a regular basis.

The Solution: turn on auto update for your OS security patches as well as any apps that have auto update capability. You should also periodically run a manual patch check to ensure that the auto update process isn’t broken.

4. You Don’t Have a Backup Strategy

When things go bad, your first question might be “do I have a backup of those files”? You shouldn’t have to ask yourself this question, you should know the answer, and the answer should be "let me go pull up my backup of those files”.

Backups are critical resources. Some computer malware such as ransomware can encrypt your files and hold them hostage. If you have a backup of your files then you can laugh at the ransom demand and tell those hackers to go stick it in their ear or some other orifice.

Check out our article on Developing a Backup Strategy for some tips on how to go about backing up your stuff.

5. You’re Not Aware of The Latest Threats And Scams

Scammers and hackers are constantly evolving their tools and tactics. Educating yourself on the current threats is key to not falling victim to the newest and most dangerous scams and hacks happening in the world.