This article gives ten tips to help improve your cloud account security. It gives tips that are applicable to a number of accounts, not just your cloud account, from email accounts to online money accounts. The article explains a little bit about how your security may be breached and how you can make it harder to breach.
Guarding an online account such as the cloud from hackers or brute force programs does not have to be a big job. Here are ten tips that you can start using right away in order to increase the security of your online accounts. Just small tweaks to the way you do things online have the potential to improve your online security a great deal. The way you manage your accounts and your passwords will make it either easier or harder for a hacker to gain access to your online accounts.
Change your password every 72 days
This is done for a number of reasons. Firstly, you need to change it routinely for security reasons, and every 72 days means that it is not a convenience, but it also makes it harder for hackers as they have to start from scratch every time you do it. You must also remember that ex employees may try to manipulate your system, and changing your password at least every 72 days will help to stop this.
Guard your email with paranoid vigor
It may be used to gain control of almost every account that is linked to it, which includes your cloud service, so you need to be very vigilant and careful about your email security. You should start by changing the password for your email address every time you use your email on potentially weak network.
Passwords with actual words in them are the least secure
Too many people still use words in their passwords, and hackers, cyber criminals and brute force programs are always going to try them first. They even try fictional words, names, places and text-talk. Words in your password are going to make it less secure and easier to hack.
Some accounts will register upper and lower case
If the accounts do, then you should definitely use upper and lower case letters in your password. It makes your passwords a lot stronger, as the hacker has to try even more combinations before finally cracking your password. Do not put the upper case letters near the front of your password because they will not be as effective.
Only use a secret answer once
Some hackers will get into your cloud account via the back door and will try to reset your password. This is especially true if your email address is hacked. So, you need the make it as hard for the hacker as possible and never use the same secret answer more than once. If one website asks for your mother’s maiden name then give it. If another asks for your mother’s maiden name (as a secret question), then give an incorrect answer and remember what it was. Or, you can write down the secret answer, just so long as you put it in a safe.
Keep your computer or mobile device up-to-date
If your computer or mobile device is out of date, then there is a higher probability that hackers have already found a weakness in it. If this is the case, then your accounts may be attacked from a hacker manipulating your own systems. Update your desktop computer, your Smartphone or tablet device as often as you can. Also, be wary of some apps if you cannot be 100% sure that your cloud activity will not be spied upon by the app developer.
Make sure your password is long enough
A long password is more secure. People will be unable to guess it as easily, and brute force programs will take longer to crack your password. A password of eight characters is okay, but you are better off with one that is twelve characters long. Do not use repeating characters or numbers, as they are easier to guess and easier for brute force programs to crack.
Keep full administrator access to yourself & create permission for other people to use it
There are very few cloud services that will not let you set up some sort of permissions function. Basically, when you sign up you become the administrator. You are the only one with access to your cloud files. If you want to share files with other people, then you may be able to set up permissions where the content may be accessed over the Internet (sometimes with a password and sometimes without). Whatever the case, do not give away your administrator account password to anyone.
Store you passwords in a safe offline and never on software anywhere – ever!
Some apps are set up to allow you to save passwords onto them so that you cannot forget them. Those apps are target number one for every hacker out there. Never save a password onto something digital. Use a pen and paper or remember your passwords (or both), and store the passwords you wrote down in a safe so that only you may gain access to them.
Choose a cloud service that has lots to lose
In other words, choose to use the cloud services of a big and established brand. The last thing they want is to have their cloud files broken into because they would lose all credulity. That is why most of the bigger and established clouds services will put security at the top of their list of priorities.
