Put padlock on your computer

Nov 19 2008 by Iain Laing, The Journal

EVERYONE has a safe place to keep their most precious things. We all have one, hidden away, under the stairs, under the bed, in the wardrobe.

Here we keep details of our most valuable things, birth certificates, insurance details, bank accounts, wills, credit card statements and passports.

In the business world, information security is also important, but on a larger scale. In the computing age, information is shared with an endless list of faceless people and stored on countless databases across the world. Worryingly, data is often lost or stolen.

Most information technology experts agree that any computer security system can be hacked into.

In our region, the North East Fraud Forum (NEFF) is working with the three regional police forces to protect local business communities and individuals by providing advice and assistance on computer security matters.

We cannot be entirely confident that data is safe and secure, but there are some simple steps that can be taken to reduce vulnerability such as:

1 Use hard-to-guess passwords – not SHEARER or KEANO!

2 Do not open email from unknown sources.

3 Turn your computer and modem off when you have finished using them.

4 Use anti-virus software and a firewall.

5 In the workplace have a policy which prevents sharing of games or music on the internet. This is how some viruses are transferred.

6 Consider regular checking of employee computer activity against the policy.

7 Update your operating system on a regular basis and download security patches.

8 Make sure that all memory sticks or CD/DVDs holding data are encrypted.

9 Make sure when carrying out financial transactions that the site you are using is secure (does it have a padlock image on the toolbar?).

10 Credit rating checks should be regularly undertaken in order to identify unauthorised transactions.

For further information and how to become member of NEFF, check out www.northeastfraudforum.co.uk

Alan Brown NEFF chairman