Simple Ways to Stay Safe Online

We may all think we’re doing everything we can to stay safe online. Especially after a pandemic that led us to be on our devices and online more than ever before! But are you covering all bases and making sure that your business is kept safe, and your personal life and family are cyber secure too?

Nowadays, it’s not just about being careful with spam emails and online shopping. We unknowingly hand over vast amounts of data to companies that could be used in ways we would prefer they didn’t. Making sure we keep our data as safe as possible is the best way to avoid hackers, online criminals or even terrorists and foreign governments getting their hands on our information.

Read our hints and tips and see if you can improve your online safety both at home and at work.

Review your privacy settings on all online accounts.

The standard settings that social media and email systems come with may not be enough. Check you are keeping your important details private so that Phishing scams don’t get through the net.

Don’t ignore software updates.

Updates contain patches that keep your device secure. Leaving these updates because they take too long or change your device means you could be making yourself an easy target for hackers and online criminals.

Avoid downloading dodgy apps.

Always check current reviews and ask for recommendations before downloading an app and always make sure you’re downloading them through a reputable store like Google Play, Microsoft Store or Apple App Store. Doing this provides protection as all apps are vetted before they are uploaded to these stores.

Before responding to all those harmless looking questions on Facebook, think about what information they’re getting from you. Are they using the information to build up a detailed picture of your profile for illicit purposes?

Use strong passwords for your accounts.

Yes, your child’s birthday or name may be easy to remember but it’s also easy for strangers to find out (you know you updated Facebook on that day! “Welcome to the World Christopher James Smith who was born at 7.13 am on 22 March 2011) Make sure that passwords are longer than eight characters, have upper and lowercase letters and contain numbers and/or other characters. Try three memorable words together. Use numbers and punctuation together, or think of a memorable saying or quote and use the first letter from each word e.g. IHADMLK1963 – I Have A Dream, Martin Luther King, 1963).

Don’t save passwords to your device.

Yes, it makes life a lot easier on a day-to-day basis. But, if that password is stored on your device, it can also be found on your device by criminals. Using a memorable selection of letters means that you don’t need to store it, but if you struggle with the number of passwords you must remember, you can use a secure app that keeps passwords safe for you. LastPass, Bitwarden and NordPass are just some of the many available.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

If given the option, use MFA for all your important accounts. It does what it says on the tin and double-checks that you are who you say you are by sending an email to your registered email address or a verification code to your mobile phone. Using this on your children’s accounts is also an effective way of tracking their usage and keeping them secure too.

Be open, honest and educate.

Whether it be in your workplace or your home, ensure that all colleagues and family know what to look out for when it comes to phishing emails or unusual activity on their devices and accounts. It is also important that they feel they can report issues to you or the authorities if it is suspicious.

What does your online safety look like? Can you tick off all the actions above? If not, take five minutes to secure your device and accounts today and avoid any security issues later down the line.

Next in the Employee Highlight Hot seat is Tony Caesar.

What is your role at Netmetix?:

Head of Sales

What does your role entail?

My role is to create, develop and implement the company’s sales plans.

This includes identifying products and services for both our existing and also new clients as well as identifying new markets and creating services for these.

New business is the main challenge – but the most rewarding.

How long have you worked for Netmetix?

Since February 2020 – so just 6 weeks before lockdown #1!

Not knowing a lockdown was imminent, I was fortunate to have managed to visit our major partners (as well as a number of clients) before the 23rd March!

What’s your favourite thing about working at Netmetix?

The brief to take our company from an outstanding supplier with 100+ SMEs, to a niche provider for mid-sized/Enterprise clients in both the public and private sector.

What was the best thing about lockdown?

That we were able to immediately move all our clients to remote working at no cost. The spike in calls to our help desk in late March was for advice and guidance – not faults or issues. All our clients have had the capability of remote working using Microsoft Azure, but hadn’t moved their entire workforce to remote working.

Going back nearly 10 years, Netmetix were pioneers with cloud technologies when we implemented our first Azure solution. This deep knowledge has meant that lockdown allowed us to develop some outstanding services to match with the digital acceleration that COVID demanded. During lockdown we became Government G Cloud accredited, we revamped our website, launched our ‘CAD in the Cloud’ solution, helped migrate a significant number of large enterprises into Azure through our partner network – and still continued to provide an outstanding service to our existing direct clients.

What was the worst thing about lockdown?

There’s quite a long list, but from a professional perspective, it’s the restriction on travel and meetings. For decades my working life has been face-to-face client meetings – often 4 days a week. I miss the train trips to London – honest!

New business is all about trust – it’s been challenging to create this via Teams – but it is possible if not ideal. Whilst we have attracted new clients over the last 6 months or so, much of the growth in our services has been through our partners – where that trust already existed and has been built on. Significant new business from new clients really benefit from those face to face meetings I think.

What is the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given?

Integrity is advice that was drummed into me early in my sales career. If that is your guiding principal, you won’t go far wrong… oh, and when things go wrong (and they will), the measure is how you react and fix it.

To contact Tony for all things sales related drop him an email at tony.caesar@netmetix.net

Our team have been working hard over lockdown, so now they’re allowed out of their houses and back into the office we would like to introduce you to them. Next in the chair is Simon Knapton

Image of Simon Knaptopn, Netmetix's Service Delivery Manager

What is your role at Netmetix?

Service Delivery Manager.

What does this entail?

I manage the technical support functions at Netmetix. I strive to ensure that the levels of technical services and support that customers receive are of the highest quality and delivered in a timely fashion.

How long have you worked at Netmetix?

I joined Netmetix in Feb 2013.

What’s your favourite thing about working at Netmetix?

The team we have at Netmetix are fantastic.  The breadth of skills, knowledge and experience really sets us apart.

What was the best thing about lockdown?

As one of the people with the longest daily commute at Netmetix, working from home made a big difference to my work/life balance. Critically, our strength as experts in cloud technology allowed us to do so without impacting the service to our customers.

What was the worst thing about lockdown?

During lockdown, my immediate family contracted Covid-19, which was a worrying time. Still, we realised, more than anyone, the importance of taking all necessary precautions, especially with key workers as family members. Not seeing friends and colleagues was hard.

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Listen.  Think.  Act.  In that order.

Find out more about Netmetix and our employees here.

Our team have been working hard over lockdown, so now they’re allowed out of their houses and back into the office, we would like to introduce you to them. Our first employee we had a chat with was Greig Schofield.

Image of greig scholfield, netmetix technical  director

What is your role at Netmetix?

Technical Director.

What does this entail?

I am responsible for all technical output of the organisation and maintaining the highest quality of service and delivery for our client base. I also ensure we are innovative and strategic in our product and service selection and delivery.

How long have you worked at Netmetix?

I joined Netmetix in the summer of 2012.

What’s your favourite thing about working at Netmetix?

We have a great team and work with great products. We also have the flexibility and mobility to choose the best of breed technologies and bring them to market quickly.

What was the best thing about lockdown?

It hasn’t been a particularly positive experience for me, but it’s been nice to spend more time at home with less travelling and to have more contact with my family on a day to day basis. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to work from home, without losing money or fear of being furloughed. It’s definitely been a positive time for Netmetix as we have remained very productive whilst working very differently.

What was the worst thing about lockdown?

It was frustrating that there has been so much seemingly available time, but with very little to do. There was also the worry and concern over family members who are key workers and the general stress and fear of the pandemic. I was also concerned for the mental health and wellbeing of my children as they have been largely isolated over this time.

What is the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given?

If its work related, allocate time accordingly and close Outlook! (now I’m also considering closing Teams too 😊 ) and also do not use Outlook like a task list. Doing those two simple things, makes me far more productive and organised during the day.

Find out more about Netmetix and our employees here.