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January 6, 2009

Web Access - New Study: There Are Dangers But Protect Yourself

Web access is wonderful. In fact after sliced bread, butter and jelly, you would think Web access was next.

As wireless access abounds and we become more mobile, web access, storing files online, remote computing and using hosted applications is going to increase.

However, there are dangers you should be aware of.

InternetNews.com writes that The security problem is partly due to the outdated enterprise approach to Web security and partly due to Web 2.0 technologies, Paul Judge, chief technology officer at PureWire, told InternetNews.com.

"The Web and Web applications pose a serious conundrum - the productivity gains and cost savings from the use of these tools can be significant and will become more important given the pressures resulting from the current economic crisis, but these tools create enormous risk for organizations of any size," the survey concluded.

What can you do to protect yourself?

1. Ensure you have the latest software (anti-virus, anti-malware, software firewall) to protect you as you work online.

2. Make sure you regularly update your operating system, especially security updates

3. Do not click on links you receive by email. Instead type the URL in your web browser - in particular banking information

4. Ensure, for confidential data, like banking, that your web browser and the remote server should be securely communicate.

The advantages of web access over traditional software far outweigh the potential security risks, as long as you are careful. Crossing a busy street is dangerous, but if you are careful, aware of your surroundings and follow the signs you'll do just fine.

tags: hosted applications , internet , saas , software as a service | 1 comments

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