Four Tips to Protect Your Tech

Technology performs a key role in any modern business environment. With the constant changes happening in the tech industry, keeping your technology up to date can be expensive, especially for non-profit organizations. Oftentimes non-profits need to stretch their budgets and technology to keep things running, and if one or two things stop working it can call for all hands on deck. Because of this, we’ve put together a list of tips from Webroot on how to protect your technology.

Turn off Bluetooth when it’s not in use

Since the Blueborne family of vulnerabilities was discovered in 2017, deactivating Bluetooth when not in use has become standard security advice. With the increasing adoption of home IoT devices, the consequences of ignoring that advice have only risen.

Bluetooth connections are like a lonely person on a dating site; they’re in constant search of a connection. When Bluetooth-enabled devices seek out the wrong sources—that of a cybercriminal, say—they are vulnerable to exploitation.

Use a VPN to cloak your digital footprint

Shrouding your connection in a virtual private network (VPN) is especially important when accessing public or unsecured WiFi networks. Again, we make a trade-off between convenience and security when logging on to these “free” networks.

Without additional protection, cybercriminals can spy on these unencrypted connections either by commandeering the router or by creating their own spoof of a legitimate WiFi hotspot, in a variation of a man-in-the-middle attack. From here, they’re free to monitor the data flowing between your device and the network.

Keep apps updated with the latest software

While some apps are inherently sketchy, and users shouldn’t expect the app creators behind them to prioritize security, others introduce vulnerabilities inadvertently. When responsibly run, app developers address these security gaps through software updates.

Take the cultural phenomenon Fortnite, for example. The game that drove its parent company, Epic Games, to an $8 billion valuation was found at the beginning of the year to contain multiple vulnerabilities that would have allowed malicious actors to take over player accounts, make in-game purchases, and join conversations. Epic Games was quick to issue “a responsibly deployed” fix, but in this and similar instances, users are only protected after installing the suggested updates.

Set up automatic cloud backups

Purging unused apps is a good principle for spring cybersecurity cleaning – like a box of old clothes you haven’t worn in decades, unused apps represent digital data containers you no longer need. But what about all that data you’d hate to lose—the pictures, videos, documents, and other files you’d be devastated to see disappear? Protecting that trove of data is another core tenant for tidying up your tech.

Ransomware is one prime reason for keeping up-to-date backups of valuable data. It can strike anyone from college students to cities, and the list of those who’ve been burned is long and distinguished.

Webroot is an industry leader in computer security and will soon partner with Carbonite to include Backup solutions as well. Webroot Security Solutions for 501c3 Non-Profits should be strongly considered by anyone trying to protect their technology on a non-profit budget.

Genesis Technologies provides software discounts to 501c3 Non-Profit Organizations. We have a small team that is always ready to help or answer questions about any of our products. If you would like to learn more about any of the products mentioned above, feel free to hop on our LiveChat App, or give us a call at 1-800-433-6326.