3 Steps to Keep Your Store Technology Secure

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Use these 3 easy steps to make sure your bookstore technology stays secure!

1. Know and secure your critical accounts!

Identify which of your accounts are the most important — the ones it would be most upsetting to lose access to. Focus on protecting these accounts first. Critical accounts might include:

  • Registrar
  • Web hosting company
  • Admin accounts for your website
  • Credit card gateway
  • Email addresses
  • Social media accounts

2. Understand common threats and mitigations.

Knowing even a little about the most common security threats can help you move to block them. Some of the most common threats include:

  • Password reuse

    • When you reuse passwords and one account gets compromised, other accounts with that password can also be easily compromised.
  • Shared accounts

    • Sharing accounts introduces more opportunities for accidents.
  • Website vulnerabilities and local computer vulnerabilities

    • No piece of technology is perfect, so any operating system, application, or network can have a vulnerability — a weakness in the system.
  • Malware

    • Malware (malicious software) is designed to damage or disrupt your computer.

3. Put it into practice!

Now that you've identified your important accounts, use these strategies to protect them from the threats we identified:

  • Use a password manager.

    • A digital or physical password manager keeps track of all your passwords, so you can use a unique password for every account. Digital password managers can also often generate unique passwords for you.
  • Do not share accounts.

    • Avoid sharing accounts whenever possible.
  • Use Two Factor Authentication (2FA) whenever possible.

    • 2FA requires two distinct steps to sign in to an account (usually a password and a code that is texted or emailed to you).
  • Maintain good local website and computer update policies.

    • When a company discovers a vulnerability, they typically release an update to fix it, so make sure to keep your website and computer (and all other tech) up to date.
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Technology
IndieCommerce