Why Data Privacy And Security Is A Must For Businesses

Guest post by Karen Lawrence

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As the owner of a business, whether it is large or small, you must have at least some concerns about data security. Not taking this issue seriously could result in major consequences for you and the business as a whole. What are the reasons why data security and privacy are two major components that any business must consider?

One of the most important reasons has to do with customer interaction with the company's website. For many businesses, individuals are able to pay for services and goods over the Internet. However, as information systems specialists will tell you, this leaves their personal data open to security issues. If the website is not secure, then hackers could steal their credit card information and maybe even their identities. In the event that this happens, customers will likely be very cautious about ever using your services again. Furthermore, if you're not able to provide proof that your website is a secure place for them to add their data, they are likely not going to bother buying anything from you at all.

Now, that bit of information applies only to those businesses who sell goods and services to their customers online. What about companies that do not engage in these practices? Well, they might store sensitive information about patients or details about the company online. These systems are generally password protected, and there may even be several layers that an individual has to get through in order to access the information. Remember, hackers are professionals, and they are often able to get around these shields. Once again, information not only about the customers but also about the company as a whole, are accessed by an ill-intentioned individual.

Another issue arises when people are fired from their jobs, and they try to seek revenge on the company. If they still have the passwords and codes to enter into the website, they may get in and make a major mess of things. They might also leak secrets of the company to competitors and use the stolen information as proof of the success of such concepts.

Whatever the potential threat may be, companies and businesses need to take these issues seriously. If data privacy and security are not maintained, your customers could leave your company, and the business will have to shut down. What can you do about such intruders finding their way into your website and other information? Well, the best step to take would be to hire an IT services professional to create a suitable plan for you.

Karen Lawrence is your ultimate information systems expert. She loves to write these tech related things like tech events and IT Services in Brisbane.

Simple Ways To Protect Your Online Data

Guest post by Rick Delgado

Cyber-crime is becoming a more prevalent problem every year in the United States. This is because much of what used to be performed in face to face interactions is now done online. For example, you probably did most of your holiday shopping last year while sitting down at your computer. Criminals are well aware of the type of information you are providing websites with and are taking greater efforts to access that information.

With so much risk attributed to the internet, it is essential to take necessary precautions. In addition to heavy duty network security programs, or encrypting data before emailing sensitive information, there are simple steps you can take to make sure criminals can't steal sensitive information. Consider some of the following:

Use Privacy Settings

Social media sites allow you to choose how private you want your profile to be. It is smart to only allow people you know and trust to view your social media sites. Identity thieves will often study someone's Facebook or Twitter account to help them take on your identity

Don't Use Personal Information on Social Media

In addition to making your social media private, don't put potentially sensitive information about yourself on it. Even a birthday can give a cyber-criminal clues to a password or verification question on your bank account's website. While it seems harmless, it might be a good idea to leave that information out. Your family and friends should know your birthday anyways.

Use Several Usernames and Passwords

Don't use the same password for your Facebook and bank account. Criminals use algorithms to figure out passwords. If they do happen to figure one out, they still won't be able to access information from all your accounts. Also change your passwords frequently for an added layer of protection. Don't make your passwords obvious either.

Be Cautious of Foreign Facebook Apps

Apps have the potential to access a lot of personal information. Some of these apps are specifically designed to take your information and sell it to criminals. Be cautious of which apps you buy and what country the app is from. You are likely to be safer with apps made in developed countries like the United States.

Don't Trust Public Computers

Don't use public computers, like those in libraries or internet cafes, for sensitive financial transactions. That information could be stolen through the network. If you do use public computers, make sure to log out when you leave. If you don't, people can trace your history or log into your accounts.

Lock Your Phone

People who use smart phones are more likely to have information stolen. Have a lock or password on your screen. Don't leave passwords up on important websites. You have a lot of important information travelling around with you in your pocket. If your information isn't properly secured and you lose or misplace your phone, you could be in serious trouble.

Close Old Accounts

It is always a good idea to reduce your digital footprint. For example, if you no longer use certain social media sites, delete them. The less information you have about yourself on the internet, the harder it will be for identity thieves to trace you.

Keep An Eye on Your Accounts

Once criminals access your information they will make purchases with your credit card. Review your finances frequently to make sure there aren't any unaccounted for transactions. If you do notice any, report them immediately to your bank so you don't lose any more money.

You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting yourself and your family from hackers, identity thieves, and other cyber threats. Your virtual security is extremely important, and can keep you from becoming a victim of not so virtual crimes.


About the Author: Rick Delgado is a freelance writer who specializes in the latest advancements in technology and gadgets, and is an expert in preventing online fraud.

The Importance of Parental Control Software

The Internet has become an invaluable asset to us in the last decade. It has expanded our world and allowed us to access information to an extent we never imagined. Schools use the Internet and computers for many aspects of our children�s education, from research to learning games. However, all of this technology presents some common safety issues that parents constantly have to confront as well. Some of the most frequent parental fears are:

• Children coming into contact with dangerous people. Chat rooms, social media, and instant messaging are all ways that children interact with others. Unfortunately online predators lurk in these areas as well.
  
• Web pages with inappropriate content. These can be pornography sites, gambling sites, pages that are violent or promote drugs & alcohol, or include tactics for cheating.
  
• Online shopping. Kids might not always realize that it is not okay to use our credit cards to purchase products. Blocking some of these sites can help contain the problem of those unexpected charges on you monthly bill.
  
• Exposure to Cyber-bullying. Chat rooms and social networks can allow your children to talk to their friends, but even classmates can have very harmful things to say. Cyber-bullying has become a dangerous and all too common activity.
  

There are times that we as parents cannot constantly monitor whether or not our children are on the Internet for longer than they should be. If kids are old enough to stay home alone while we finish our workday, it is hard to say whether they really did only spend 30 minutes on the computer, or if they actually spent 2 hours playing or on Facebook instead of working on that English essay.

Verity child monitoring software helps parents take control of these problems. After a quick setup, Verity will begin monitoring whatever you want it to. You can block certain websites by using the domain name or keywords, preventing pages from being opened. This way kids can still do school research without going anywhere they shouldn�t. You can also set up time limits on certain programs or on the computer itself so you know your child is not spending too much time online. You can save screenshots of what your child was doing and looking at to review later, as well as viewing usage and activity reports that show how long your child is on a certain website or using specific programs. You can even have alerts sent to your email so you can check on your child from your smart phone.

Protecting our children in today�s high tech environment can be a daunting task. As fast as technology is moving and progressing, it can be nearly impossible. But with the right tools like good parental control software it becomes much more manageable. As parents, anything we can utilize to keep our kids safe and happy is worth checking out.

Video Surveillance at Home

We all know that there are some obvious benefits to using video surveillance within your home. It allows you to watch for intruders when you are away, you can monitor when your children arrive home from school, or keep an eye on the new nanny, but the list doesn't end there. Here are some additional reasons to use Eyeline Video Surveillance Software that you might not have thought of.

Daytime Pet Monitor

Have you ever had a time that you've gotten home and wondered how in the world your dog could have managed to get something off of your counter? I have. I have very small dogs, yet if I was in a hurry in the morning and happened to leave the bagels on the counter somehow they would manage to pull them off and devour them while I was gone. With EyeLine, I can go back and see. Apparently Jack Russel Terriers can jump surprisingly high when they have a mind to.

With EyeLine it easy to find out just which pup is deciding to destroy the remote, whether they are relaxing on the furniture they shouldn't be on, and see what other trouble they might be getting into while you are away.

Is Your Pet Expecting?

This may seem a bit strange to the non-animal owner, but it can be very important to know exactly when your dog, cat, or horse go into labor. Horse breeders set up constant surveillance when waiting for their mothers to deliver, as complications can result in devastating results. A friend of mine is a dog breeder and it is important for her to have the ability to check in on her mothers on a regular basis. With Eyeline she can log in and check on her pets with the web access feature from her office.

New Baby Monitor

For those of you with children, video surveillance is quickly becoming the popular way to check on your new baby. You can check on your sleeping child without running the risk of waking them up. Simply fire up your computer.

Outdoor Surveillance

Obviously there are times that it is nice to know whether or not someone is outside your home. However I have some friends that have a different concern - wildlife. They need to know whether or not they have a large predator around their house as they recently purchased a puppy. While they would like to let the puppy into the dog run during the day they live where mountain lions may be a problem. They use Eyeline to make sure they do not have a visitor that may not be safe while they are away.

Video surveillance is a valuable asset, regardless of whether you use it at home or in a business setting. Now it is easy and affordable to use too, giving you the ability to use it for security or simple monitoring.

Easy Email Encryption Software

Have you ever worried about sending private information via email? Needed to send sensitive information to someone that could cause problems if it fell into the wrong hands? Privacy and security are of growing concern in the digital world with the rising levels of crimes such as identity theft. This doesn't mean that you should not send sensitive information, but it does mean that you need to be cautious about how you do it. An easy method of protecting sensitive information is to encrypt it.

With MEO File Encryption Software encrypting files, folders, and emails is easy. If you want to encrypt an email, you simply hit the Encrypt an email button from the main window of MEO and type in the To:, Subject: and Body of the email, add any attachments and hit Send. You will need to set a password for the encrypted file, keeping in mind that all of the rules you know and love regarding password strength still apply. Finally, you need inform the person receiving the email of the password or they will be unable to open and read what you sent them. It is up to you to choose a method to share the password with your email recipient, you may tell them on the phone, in another email, or even send them a riddle to figure it out. The original email they receive from you will let them know that they need MEO to decrypt the attachment. Since MEO is a free encryption software, that's really no problem at all!

HIPAA Compliant Dictation Software

With HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, in effect, medical dictators and transcriptionists have to be wary with the use or exchange of patients' Protected Health Information (PHI) in their dictation transmissions. As a medical transcriptionist (MT), they have to maintain the privacy of every patient record being transcribed.

To protect patient confidentiality, it is recommended that your computer comes with at least the following:

• Firewall protection with solid password protection for user accounts
• Regular Windows or MAC updates for computer security
• Up-to-date antivirus software
• File encryption software (e.g., Dial Dictate, Web Dictate, or Express Dictate)

The recent stimulus plan (or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) included a specific act � called the HITECH Act (or the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) which has specific requirements for the electronic transmission of patients' health information. For this reason, NCH Software has created a medical user version for its dictation software applications which integrate seemlessly with Express Scribe on the transcription side to maintain patient privacy through the transcription process.

Dial Dictate: HIPAA-compliant encryption to secure medical patient data when recording as .dct files.
Express Dictate: Supports HIPAA-compliant encryption, perfect to secure patient or client data for transmission over the Internet.
Web Dictate: Recording can be HIPAA-compliant encrypted for privacy and security.

Given that medical transcriptionists receive, send, and store confidential patient data, it's vital they recognize and adhere to HIPAA rules on privacy, security, and confidentiality. If this is accomplished, patient records are secured, data efficiency is obtained, and more importantly customer confidence is increased.

HIPAA offers a set of strict guidelines for protecting patients' privacy and information. Seeing as a lot of health organizations utilize NCH Software for dictating and transcribing medical records, we have carefully considered the best way to sustain these guidelines. MTs can rest assured that NCH Software will assist them in paving the way to a HIPAA-compliant future.

Announcing Verity Parental Control Software

This week we added a brand new program to our ever-growing range of software, this time a little something for the family. Verity Parental Control Software is now available and completely free, giving parents more confidence and peace of mind. By monitoring a child's computer activity both online and off parents can rest easy that they can always look back at what their kids are doing on the computer without needing to hover and watch over their shoulder.

After a quick setup, Verity will begin logging the programs being used and the websites visited. Activity is tracked by user, program, keystrokes, mouse clicks, and screenshots and can be monitored through a password-protected web interface. Additional parental controls allow you to block specific websites and applications.

So if you are looking for a quick and easy way to track computer activity in your household you should give Verity a try, and be sure to let us know what you think.