Is Your System Secure?

It is important to make your store secure from intruders.  As you know as a store operator, you are required to follow the PCI guideline to protect the personal data of your customers.  One of the many things that you have to do is to make sure that your POS software and hardware is updated to the level that is compliant.  This is probably the most obvious step toward the compliancy.  However, there are several other areas that you need to address.

If you have an Internet connection, you are vulnerable to Internet intrusions.  The intrusion could come in many forms such as virus, spyware, etc.  There are also more active ways that a hacker can gain access to your computer.  The challenge is to stay ahead of these intrusions and it’s a never ending process. 

To secure your network, you need to have hardware and software that are designed to limit access to and from your store.  A Firewall is a solution to protect your system. A Firewall could be a hardware solution or software solution or both. 

Even with all the technology to protect your system, the best practice is to limit the Web access to business related traffic only.  Just because you use Windows PCs, it doesn’t mean you should use them like the Windows PCs you have at home.  A good rule of thumb is to “Let your POS system function as they are designed – to run your POS system.”

As the technology advances, so do the ways that hackers will come up with to try to steal valuable information.  This is a never ending battle and you need to keep up with hardware and software updates that are designed to stay ahead of the crooks.   As a POS systems provider, STCR is here to provide ever changing solutions to help you stay up to date.  If you have question on whether your network is secure or if your POS software is up to date, please don’t hesitate to contact us at (607) 757-0181.