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Windows 10 comes with tons of great features for your business, including privacy and security tools for hardening your computer. This guide gives you our top tips and best practices for securing your computer and business operations.
Many of these tips are pretty straightforward, free, or even seem deceptively simple. But together, these give you the essential cybersecurity tools and best practices for securing Windows 10 computers at your business. For computers with access to large customer databases or government systems, optimizing your security settings is a critical task.
These days companies develop information security policies, which set guidelines and communicate anything employees are responsible for doing. This reduces opportunities for a virus, hacker, ransomware, or another kind of cyberattack.
Our guide here includes how to use antivirus tools, disable auto-login, turn off remote access, set up encryption, and more.
You want to make it harder for hackers to break in. It might be convenient to leave the front door to your house unlocked or even open all the time. That way, you could avoid the hassle of carrying keys or even bothering with doorknobs. We learn at a young age to close the door and lock it when you leave.
Leaving your door wide open is like an invitation for anyone to walk into your house. Or doors that you can leave wide open, leaving your house vulnerable, so anyone can walk in and do whatever they want with your computer and personal data. Access to your computer means they could steal or erase your data. They can encrypt your hard drive with ransomware and threaten to wipe your data unless you pay a ransom fee.
They could install malicious code that corrupts your entire system. Or they could connect to all the computers in your company network and cause widespread damage to your business. You can use the below security best practices like a checklist for hardening your computer. With a couple of changes from the Control Panel and other techniques, you can make sure you have all security essentials set up to harden your operating system. When you first set up a new PC with Windows 10, you create a user account.
By default, your new account is set to log in automatically at startup. But it can create a serious security risk if anyone can open your computer, then immediately get access to your data and company systems. This is especially important if you travel with a laptop , bringing it with you to places like a coffee shop, airport, or open co-working spaces. Depending on the security policies at your company, this may also be something your employer requires. It is easy to disable, so in only a few steps, you can turn off auto-login.
Bonus tip: If you do travel with your laptop or work from public places, you may want to get a privacy screen protector. Privacy screens can also reduce glare and make the screen easier on your eyes, another reason to get one.
You can turn this on when you adjust your screensaver settings. Security starts with following the most basic protocols. So make sure you password protect your PC. In recent versions of Windows operating systems, including Windows 10, your firewall is enabled by default. Easy enough!
Windows Firewall is a built-in network security system. Network firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets.
If you want to check the settings for your Windows Firewall, we have instructions for you here: How to Turn on the Firewall in Windows In Windows 10, you have the Windows Remote Desktop feature that allows you or others!
Remote access allows someone to control everything on your computer as if they are directly connected to it. Unfortunately, hackers can exploit Windows Remote Desktop. In more than one cyberattack, criminals have gained to tried to gain control of remote systems, installed malware, or stolen databases full of personal information. By default, the feature is disabled. You want to keep the remote access feature turned off, except when you are actively using it.
You can prevent viruses and malicious code using your built-in tools in Windows Enterprise editions of Windows 10 include Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection , a security platform that monitors endpoints such as Windows 10 PCs using behavioral sensors. You should install urgent security updates right away. Some securicy patches are critical fixes for protecting you from a new type of malware or cyberattack.
Your company may have a security policy about updating your operating system too. Depending on your company, your IT team may be responsible for updating your operating system. Even if you heard about a design change that you might not like. Microsoft does keep it relatively simple by setting up two different types of updates: quality updates, feature updates.
If your business is running on an older version of Windows? Make sure you upgrade your operating systems before they become a security nightmare. Support for Windows 7 ends in January , which means anyone still using it or an older OS! Routine file backups are essential for protecting yourself from losing important data if you have a sudden hard-drive failure or your PC get a virus.
Windows 10 comes with tools and features that make backing up your data easy. For large companies, or even startups and small businesses, file backups are critical for recovering from a cyberattack incident or disaster.
After the devastating cyberattack known as NotPetya , system backups were crucial for recovery when malware crippled the IT systems of multiple global companies and government agencies. Encryption encodes your data so only authorized users with your password can view, copy, or make changes.
If your encrypted information were stolen, it would be unusable. Encrypting your entire drive also protects against unauthorized changes to your system, like firmware-level malware.
How you set up accounts on your computer helps secure your device from the start. Using a Microsoft account has several benefits since you can enable two-factor authentication, sync your data, and get options for password recovery. There are even more options and security features for accounts using Azure Active Directory including central management if your business is set up with a custom domain. Windows 10 and your browser may have some features for saving passwords, but a best practice in the infosec world is to use a dedicated password manager.
The best ones sync can automatically add new passwords, sync with your phone and computer, generate and autofill strong passwords, and let you share a specific password with coworkers or friends. As hackers are getting better and better at stealing or cracking passwords, technology companies are forcing us to make our passwords stronger and more complicated. That also means more people start re-using passwords.
But if one password is stolen in a data breach, that password could then give nefarious actors access to multiple accounts with your personal, financial, or professional information.
You might have heard of password managers like Lastpass , 1Password , Keeper , or Dashlane. There are more. Pick on that looks good to you and start using it. Several password managers, like Lastpass, offer a free version that will give you all the basic tools you need. Your company may also have a required password management software, with an administrator who will create an account for you.
Check out our guide on password managers here: How to Use a Password Manager. Be careful about the links you click and watch for phishing or scam emails in your inbox. Only download or install software from sources you trust. Yet, these myths about security are why companies need security policies as the foundation for an infosec program. You want to make sure you know what your company holds you responsible for doing. Hardening your Windows device is a great first step into developing your security foundation.
You should make sure you are following information security best practices to protect your devices and data. The next step is hardening your organization with our Startup Security Playbook. It provides tips and answers to common questions about information security programs.
Previously she was a journalist, Techstars hackstar, and a marketing consultant. She works remotely from her home in the Boston area. Login Blog Careers Contact. Disable Windows 10 automatic login. Set a password with your screensaver. Turn on your firewall. Disable remote access. Enable or install antivirus protection tools. Enable auto-updates for your operating system.
Set up file backups. Turn on encryption. Set up your user accounts. Set up a password manager. Older Post. Newer Post. About the author.