Malicious Intentions
There are 1 million new malware threats released every single day. As computer vulnerabilities increase at an exponential rate, it’s more important than ever to mindfully reduce your risk. While automatic security measures (antivirus, firewall) are extremely important, nothing beats educating your staff about safe email usage.
Lack of Email Safety Knowledge In Dental Practices
In our growing tech environment, anti-virus and firewall protection are no longer enough. As the preferred IT partner to 200+ South Florda dentists, we have seen firsthand the common security weak points within dental practices. So, what's the number one reason practices experience malicious attacks? Simple: lack of email safety knowledge. Do not assume your staff has the knowledge to identify suspicious emails! Instead, guide and train your team to help ensure your practice’s online safety.
One of the most devastating vulnerabilities we’ve seen this year is called Cryptolocker Ransomware. Ransomware is not a virus, but a increasingly sophisticated corrupt file that users have to manually download. Most anti-virus and firewall protections cannot detect Cryptolocker because it presents itself as a safe application. However, if your team is aware of threats like these, chances of avoiding threats are very good.
Protect Your Practice
Knowledge is power when it comes to protecting your practice. We strongly urge having a short meeting with your team to review safety guidelines so everyone can confidently avoid malicious threats. Linked below are helpful guides that will help you structure a team meeting.
Avoiding Email Threats:
- Don’t open attachments from unknown or unexpected sources, even if they appear to be legitimate.
- Don't click links on emails you aren’t expecting even if they are from a person you know.
- Do not open emails ending with a domain name other than .com or .net without contacting us first.
- The most threatening attachments have an “.exe” suffix. Do not download or open these.
- Shipping vendors and online merchants should never send you attachments, so be wary of ALL attachments.
- When in doubt, do not open the attachment or click the link.
Maximizing Password Protection:
A few tips for secure passwords:
- The longer the password the better,
- Add a symbol or numbers in password.
- Add a random word
- Change your passwords every couple months.
Our biggest tip: Do not open any email attachments that you are not expecting even if they come from people and companies that you know. If there is any doubt, do not open the attachment.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions as you safeguard your practice (to the best of your ability) against malicious threats. As always, spread the word to practice safe computing!