If you own or operate a business, you know that earning and keeping your customers’ trust is crucial for success. With so much commerce focused online, cybersecurity is a serious concern, especially when even big brands have major data breaches.
How can you ensure that your company stays as safe as possible online? To start, you can look into doing more business on Usenet.
What is Usenet?
Usenet is short for “User Network” and was invented in 1979 at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. It was designed to share information between remote computer systems rapidly. They started with three servers located in a 20 minutes radius from one another. Today, Usenet is a global network of thousands of servers run by dozens of companies and serving millions of users.
Why is Usenet More Secure Than Other Platforms?
The majority of online business is done on the World Wide Web, but it’s a remarkably insecure platform. It seems like every week there is a major data breach that endangers people’s usernames, passwords, physical addresses, or even credit card numbers. There are several reasons for this.
Compared to Usenet, the Web is Young
Usenet preceded the World Wide Web by more than a decade, so it had more time to refine its security and ensure that users get the best possible protection. The decentralized nature of Usenet means that there is also more competition between providers to make security improvements.
Usenet Doesn’t Keep Logs
Web services work on an ad-based revenue model, so it’s important to track users’ online activity. This is usually done with “cookies”, files that are installed on your computer and keep an eye on what you’re looking at. That’s why if you look at a product on a website, you’ll start to see ads for that same product on other websites.
Usenet, since it remains ad-free, doesn’t have to track your activity, so most providers don’t keep logs. That means your personal information isn’t kept on a potentially vulnerable outside server.
Usenet Embraces Security
Most Usenet providers use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security on all their connections because this is a strong encryption protocol that will thwart most cyber attacks.
However, many providers have started offering additional security measures like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), ad blockers, and antivirus software. These not only increase your security while on Usenet, but also work on the rest of the Internet.
Tips for Better Cybersecurity
If you’re going to do business online, especially on Usenet, you should follow these tips to make sure that you keep both your and your customers’ data safe.
- Never use an unencrypted connection. Make sure that you always access Usenet with SSL connections and transfer data through a reliable VPN.
- Set up a firewall to restrict access to your system from outside users. If you keep any customer information on your servers, a firewall is a key security measure.
- Be careful with what articles you access. Run a high quality antivirus program that will scan all incoming downloads and regularly check your full system for threats, then quarantine them.
- Train your employees on good cybersecurity practices. They should be aware of how phishing attacks work, know not to open files from unsafe sources, and recognize threats.
Bottom Line
The trust of your customers is more important than any other business asset, so you should make use of all the tools available to protect them. Usenet is an underutilized resource that can not only streamline your business, but better protect your customers from online threats.