- Always use strong passwords with your storefront. Your passwords should:
- Be at least 7 characters long
- Contain at least one number
- Contain both upper and lower case letters
- Contain at least one special character. For example, replace the letter “A” with “@” or “S” with “$”.
- Not contain all or part of a previous password
- Extra Protection: Stay clear of words found in the dictionary.
- Reset your Control Panel password once every 90 days.
- Do not use a password similar to or containing your old one.
- Supply Control Panel User passwords to other people only when necessary and reset or change them as soon as they are finished with their work/task.
- Check your password area often to make sure you recognize all configured user names.
- Do not use the “remember passwords” feature on shared computers.
Many people feel a sense of "Oh, that won't happen to me", when it comes to computer security.. Unfortunately, this is not the case! You must protect yourself from hackers and other types of data loss that can come from problems such as viruses. We recommend talking with a local network security company to ensure that your local network and internal security practices are strong. If you store order information, be sure to encrypt this information. If someone steals your laptop, your most precious data (Customer Information) should not be viewable.
At a minimum any PC that attaches to the Internet should be running a virus scanner, such as Symantec or McAffee. As well, you should never connect to the Internet unless you have a firewall either running on your PC or as an external device. Microsoft XP comes included with a firewall that will run on your PC, which is automatically enabled for you.
The easiest way to protect sensitive Customer Information (credit card holder data) is to not store it at all. If you make it a practice never to download or store this data than you are totally protected. Credit card data stored through Network Solutions is completely protected as we are certified and periodically tested to hold this sensitive data. If you do download or store cardholder data on your local computer, there are some very important things to keep in mind.
Visa and MasterCard require any merchant that stores, processes or transmits credit card data to self certify to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard. You will be held responsible for any breach of security that results in the release of card holder data. Keep in mind, you will have to allow audits by Visa or Visa-approved entities in the event of a cardholder data compromise. You will also have to continue to secure cardholder data during and after contract terminations.
Always store cardholder data in an encrypted format. Ensure that you are the only one that has access to this information. Do not "backup" credit card data anywhere. If you feel that you must “backup” this data, burn it to a CD and secure it in a bank vault.
For more complete information on how to protect your business, visit Microsoft's small business security hub. Click here to visit this resource.
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