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Clearing your Google Browsing History
Clearing your Google Browsing History
While Google makes a lot of useful information available to us, it also collects a lot of data about us and our online behavior that can put our privacy at risk.

n recent times, the importance of network security has been widely discussed, although it is not always specified what this means. In this article written by data-security specialists from https://ip-locations.org/ will look at what network security is and what steps can be taken to successfully implement it in your home or business.

What is network security?

Although there is not a unanimous definition of network security, we can summarize it around the protection of communications of all devices that have access to the internet, both desktop and mobile or our Smart Home, as well as industrial equipment such as servers. In essence, network security is the guarantee that all information entering and leaving these devices is kept only between these devices and their recipients, i.e. it is always completely confidential and remains out of the reach of third parties.

Risks of an insecure network

An unsafe network presents increasingly serious risks in a society that depends more and more on internet communications. If your network is unsafe, it means that all your banking details, email communications, Amazon purchases, university credentials and a whole range of personal data are exposed that a malicious individual could use to drain your bank account, interfere with your communications or even find out your home address. That's why it's essential that your network has the highest level of security at all times, both on your desktops and on your mobile devices.

Steps to take for a secure network

To ensure your privacy and security on the network, there are a number of measures we can take, from routine computer maintenance and anti-virus to the use of strong passwords and encryption over a VPN. Let's look at some of the main actions you should take to secure your networks.

Strong passwords

Passwords for our router, emails, user accounts, and devices must always be strong. Not only must they be impossible to guess, but they must also be resistant to a possible dictionary attack. Long, random alphanumeric combinations that alternate between upper and lower case are the best option to ensure that your accounts and devices remain protected.

Professional Antivirus

Antivirus is one of the main tools to ensure the security of our network and one of the most important barriers that keep us safe from viruses, malicious files, and phishing. For all these reasons, choosing a good antivirus is something you should not skimp on. The best antivirus on the market have professional plans that allow us to protect all our devices simultaneously, and can even make a big difference in optimizing their performance.

Updated devices

However, even the best antivirus programs can be inefficient if they are not updated properly. Both anti-virus and operating systems on all our devices must be kept up to date at all times to ensure they are at their best. Every day new threats appear on the network and these must be countered as soon as possible by antivirus and operating systems such as Windows, macOS or Android. To keep new threats from affecting your computer, you need to automatically keep it up to date. This way, urgent updates will reach your system as soon as they are published.

Protected browsers

Browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, or Safari are one of the main entry and exit doors to our computers. For this reason, and in the same way, as with antivirus and operating systems, it is necessary to keep them always up to date, so we must make sure we have their latest version when working with them. In most cases, they are updated automatically, but it never hurts to access the configuration data and check it manually. You should also be extra careful with patches and add-ons, some of which are malicious! The less external software that has access to our browsers, the better.

Data containment

It should be obvious, but it isn't always. It is necessary that all our passwords remain hidden at all times. Only those who are strictly necessary, especially in the field of work, should have access to our passwords. The larger a company is, the more employees must have access to computer equipment. It is essential that the number of employees who have access to passwords is always kept to a minimum in order to ensure their effectiveness and reduce the risk of sensitive data leaks.