Your Biggest Vulnerability May Come From Forgetting to Logout

Even if you have the best network security tools in place, you can still fall victim to a major data breach, just by doing something as seemingly-harmless as not manually logging out of your online accounts.

Note that most of the threats that come from forgetting to logout are from within your office, like your co-workers. Now, you might think that all of your workmates are trustworthy, but this may not be the case. After all, “It’s always the person you least suspect.”

Before Logging Out of Your PC, Log Out of Your Online Accounts...
This might come as a surprise to many computer users, but just because you close your web browser, doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re logged out of your online account. Many online accounts require you to manually click “Log Off” for you to actually log off. The danger of not manually logging off like this is that the next person who opens your web browser will find your account to be open, and have easy access to it.

...Or Be Embarrassed.
On the annoying-yet-harmless side of this problem, leaving your account open like this could lead to some mischievous activity on your social media pages. A co-worker may post something in your name that’s completely out of character and everybody will have a good chuckle the next day.

...Or Worse.
However, that’s a best-case scenario. A less-than-kind person who comes along and finds your account open could easily have access to your email or bank account, which could lead to some serious identity theft issues.

In the same way, a hacker could remote into your PC while you're away and take control of it. This is often done via a trojan-type malware, or a variety of other ways. If you haven’t manually logged out of your accounts, then the hacker who controls your PC could easily access your accounts by opening your web browser, checking your bookmarks and history, and visiting each and every site of value. If they come across a site with an account still open, then they’re in. Next, all they have to do to lock you out is change your password as if they were you, and send the new password to their email account. This is one major headache that could have easily been avoided by just clicking “Log Off.”

The biggest disadvantage of falling victim to malicious activity like this is that you’re not around to stop it. Instead, you’re away from your desk, completely oblivious that your identity is being ripped off, and you won't figure it out until it’s too late. This is where remote security monitoring from Heart of Texas Network Consultants saves the day. With this service, we’re able to monitor your network’s activity and bring to your attention anything that seems suspicious, like the activity of a hacker, or even unauthorized access from an employee.

You may not always remember to logout of your accounts before going home for the day, but at least with Heart of Texas Network Consultants watching over your system, you won’t have to worry about it.