When you are launching a business, it is very similar to having a child. You want it to grow healthy, succeed and be safe. Especially to be safe. 

In the business world, this task of keeping your company out of trouble is taken over by cybersecurity programs. These tools prevent your data from stealing or leaking out to the whole world to see, thus protecting your commercial secrets.

Living in the business world without all these programs is not reasonable, so keep reading to learn what tools you need to add to your personal safety toolbox to protect your data on the internet.

VPN

Let's start with the most obvious, and frankly, one of the most important aspects of cybersecurity: VPN. Choosing a top-notch VPN for your business is not that hard since many YouTubers advertise these services, and the ones they sell are pretty good!

VPN redirects your traffic, camouflages your IP address, and doesn't give the slightest chance to a spy to invade your doings on the web. It is your shield against bad guys, and we advise you to use it every time you go to the web via your gadgets. Both personal and work-related.

If you are sure about the program you use, you can even find a good free VPN. However, we advise you to invest in something with more advanced features, since it is your company we are talking about. That's far too important to be cheap about its safety.

Antivirus Software

Even though antivirus software is absolutely crucial for your company's computers' safety, people do not use them that much, especially when we're talking about startups. And it is a shame.

Using antimalware programs is very important for your company's safety. It will be another protective shield between you and viruses on the internet.

You may say that if you do not download anything suspicious, you don't really need antivirus. However, you can't really prevent your PC from being attacked by viruses even if you do not download anything. They will find a way.

If you install a powerful antivirus, you can be sure that every single try to infect your computer will be prevented, your emails will be scanned, and suspicious files removed.

Penetration Testing

Even when you have every piece of your data seem nicely covered with protective tools, hackers and competitors still can invest in really powerful penetration tools to steal your information.

That's why you need to test your protection system for vulnerabilities from time to time. You can use special tools like Metasploit to inspect the computers and always be sure that your protection is full.

But, we understand that sometimes apps are too expensive for a new company, so we suggest you use a very elegant and free method of detecting penetration tries. You can use a screen recorder to fixate everything that happens on your work computer while you're not near.

This way, you can get a recording of everything that happens on your computer when you are not around and find out what exactly the bad guys were looking for. This can also help you find a rat in your own office if you suspect somebody. That's a very handy tool, right?

Encryption Tools

The first rule of cybersecurity says that you need not only cover all your data with VPNs and antiviruses but also encrypt it. In this case, if a hacker breaks through the layers of your protection, the information they have stolen will n be easily available for them since you encrypted it.

The internet is full of amazing business software that helps you encrypt your information and make sure that not a drop of your data will be got by a hacker.

We love a free VeraCrypt, and, overall, free encryption tools are awesome, so here you can save some money and data by using this too.

(Photo from Sigmund via Unsplash)

Firewalls

Adding a firewall to your business security system is like extra insurance that you will not be invaded by indecent people! A firewall is a program that monitors every information that comes in and out of your machine.

It is a very effective way to protect your computer from invasion, but still, it is not perfect. That's why do not count only on the firewall as your protective blanket: use it as a crucial but additional tool for security.

Password managing tools

We all know that having secure passwords is really important, but many of us often ignore this important rule. We simply forget, find it inconvenient, or hate using complicated passwords, thus giving indecent people a chance to penetrate our data.

We really insist that you start using password managers because it not only helps you to organize your passwords but also these tools remind you quite often that you need to change your passwords.

Our personal rule is to change passwords everywhere once a week on a random day, at a random hour, not to give the slightest chance for hackers to steal your passwords.

Bonus tip: Keep all your software up-to-date

Software gets old and vulnerable really fast, and it is especially true for cyber security programs, so make sure that you make timely software updates for every program you use.

It is a simple rule that can save you from losing all the information one horrible day, so do not ignore it. You can set up daily revisions of your programs or simply opt for automatic updates, but it is up to you.

The most important thing here is for you to be sure that every tool that works for your safety is fresh and ready to beat the virtual backs of everyone who would dare to try to invade your PC.

Summary

When we speak about protecting your data, you can't do too much. It is crucial to have as many layers of protection as possible to ensure that even if a hacker breaks through your firewall or VPN, something else will stop them on the way to your valuable information.

We also advise you to check with professionals in cyber security and ask them to check your security system for flaws and vulnerabilities.

And, in the end, we wish you always to stay safe and protected. Good luck!