ActiSoft Technology - Blog , Best PracticeActiSoft Technology - Blog , Best Practicehttps://www.actisofttechnology.com/blogs/best-practiceWed, 22 Apr 2026 17:12:35 +0200http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[The Power of Password Managers: Safeguarding Your Digital World]]>https://www.actisofttechnology.com/blogs/post/the-power-of-password-managers-safeguarding-your-digital-worldIn today's digital age, where our lives are increasingly intertwined with the online world, ensuring the security of our personal information has beco ]]>

In today's digital age, where our lives are increasingly intertwined with the online world, ensuring the security of our personal information has become paramount. A crucial aspect of protecting our digital assets is creating and managing strong, unique passwords for every online account. Yet, remembering multiple complex passwords can be a daunting task. This is where password managers come to the rescue, offering convenience, peace of mind, and fortified protection against a range of cyber threats. In this blog, we explore the benefits of using a password manager and the threats they effectively shield us from.

What are the Benefits to Using a Password Manager

Enhanced Security

Password managers generate strong, randomised passwords for each of your online accounts, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorised access. Unlike using predictable passwords or reusing the same one across multiple sites, which can make all your accounts vulnerable if one is breached, a password manager keeps each password unique and encrypted.

Convenience and Time-Saving

With a password manager, you no longer need to memorise or write down passwords on sticky notes. Instead, you only need to remember one master password to access the password manager itself. This saves valuable time and reduces the frustration of struggling to remember numerous passwords.

Password Strength Analysis

A password manager often includes features that analyse the strength of your existing passwords and identify any weak or duplicate ones. It helps you rectify these issues and reinforces your overall security posture. Better ones alert you to any passwords that may have been breached.

Cross-Device Synchronisation

Most password managers offer synchronisation across various devices, ensuring that your passwords are accessible and up-to-date wherever you go. This feature allows for seamless access across smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Auto-Fill Functionality

Password managers can auto-fill login credentials for you, streamlining the login process and reducing the chance of typing errors that might lead to accidental exposure of sensitive information.

Threats Password Managers Protect Against

Phishing Attacks

Phishing remains one of the most common cyber threats, where attackers use fake websites to steal login information. Password managers help combat this by automatically recognising the correct URLs and refusing to auto-fill credentials on malicious sites.

Credential Stuffing

In a credential stuffing attack, hackers use combinations of usernames and passwords from previous data breaches to gain unauthorised access to multiple accounts. Password managers thwart this threat by ensuring each account has a unique, strong password.

Keylogging

Keyloggers are malicious software that record keystrokes, allowing hackers to capture sensitive information like passwords. Password managers mitigate this risk by auto-filling passwords, bypassing the need for manual typing.

Shoulder Surfing

In crowded places, attackers might watch over your shoulder to steal passwords as you type them. Password managers minimise this risk by eliminating the need to manually enter passwords.

Insider Threats

Password managers protect against internal threats by limiting access to sensitive information. Organisations can restrict access to the password manager's master password, ensuring only authorised personnel can retrieve the stored credentials.

The adoption of a password manager is a critical step towards fortifying your digital security and safeguarding your sensitive information. By generating strong, unique passwords, protecting against various cyber threats, and offering convenient access to your online accounts, password managers prove to be indispensable tools in the fight against cybercrime. Embrace the power of password managers and take control of your digital world with confidence and peace of mind. Remember, your passwords are the gatekeepers to your online world, and with a password manager, you hold the keys to their fortified protection.


81% of breaches are due to a failure to secure passwords, credentials and secrets, you can remove that risk by adding a password manager to your security stack. It's an excellent addition to your multi-layered security.

At Actisoft Technology we look to make you secure so that you can Work From Anywhere (WFA) not just in the office or at home, take your protection with you wherever you go.


Talk with us about how Keeper password manager can help you mitigate the risk to your organisation from weak passwords.

]]>Tue, 01 Aug 2023 13:47:33 +0000<![CDATA[An Overview of Business Reasons to Achieve a Compliance Standard]]>https://www.actisofttechnology.com/blogs/post/an-overview-of-business-reasons-to-achieve-a-compliance-standardOne of the biggest reasons to achieve a compliance standard is to win and retain business, setting yourself apart from the competition by showing that ]]>

Compliance Brings Benefits

One of the biggest reasons to achieve a compliance standard is to win and retain business, setting yourself apart from the competition by showing that you have met a level of quality/security, as an example.


It can be a requirement for obtaining Government or Public body contracts or allow you to at least bid for them. A lot of Government contracts stipulate that you need to have Cyber Essentials.


Let’s briefly look at the potential benefits of achieving the Lexcel Standard which is the Law Society’s legal practice mark.


•Increased retention rates of clients due to a superior customer service experience,
•As an organisation you will have a more effective risk management process which will result in fewer complaints,
•It will provide you with a competitive advantage,
•Having the Lexcel Standard of Compliance can help you to stand out from competitors during a bidding process,
•Increased profitability and efficiency,
•Access lower insurance premiums and receive favourable treatment from insurers.


The benefits can be the same for any Compliance Standard that you achieve especially Industry specific ones.


Some Compliance Standards have to be achieved for some business operations such as PCI DSS Compliance which means you can process and handle credit card transactions and their associated data. With more card transactions happening due to the COVID19 Pandemic have you achieved this Compliance Standard? It is not a one-off exercise it has to be managed and ensured that compliance is being met all the time, if you are not compliant you can lose the ability to process credit card transactions, what impact would that have on your business?


FCA Compliance is a Statutory requirement for organisations that operate within Financial Services so maintenance of this is second nature as they must have it to operate within that sector.


Remember that all the above Compliance standards are over and above your requirement to be GDPR compliant! That can mean a lot of time spent on managing compliance.


No compliance standard is a one-off exercise, it’s a continual process. Inevitably, it can get added as an additional responsibility to someone’s ever-growing workload which means the management of the compliance standard can become all-consuming, impacting productivity and efficiency as well as increasing costs. Achieving a Compliance Standard is something you should enter into with eyes wide open.
Be aware of and control your risk
A lot of standards have the same controls to be implemented and because the standard covers different business areas or units you can have multiple people duplicating tasks instead of in tandem, together as a team. As an example, you may end up with the person who is responsible for business insurance being tasked twice or more with providing copies of insurance policies therefore duplicating the task and effort for them. This can happen in any size of business. This decreases the efficiency and productivity of all involved and can make compliance seen as a negative task as opposed to the positive task that it is with the benefits it brings.


Creating a Compliance/Security culture within your organisation will make it become second nature so removing any negative outlook from the process is important to success, take people along the journey, dragging them doesn’t work so well!


Achieving a Compliance Standard can be costly both in time and money, but the benefits can outweigh those costs if you are able to manage the process efficiently and continually as opposed to a last minute panic!


Keeping key stakeholders updated with progress is a key factor for several reasons, to ensure that any required resources are made available and they can be your champion in making any necessary business process changes, these are a small example. 


Meeting, and exceeding, Compliance Standards adds value to your organisation if not viewed and treated as a chore. 


Actisoft Technology offers a Compliance Management software solution, please see our product page – Compliance Manager. We also offer Cyber Security Services and Products, including Security Awareness Training, to ensure that you can Work Securely, Everywhere, Everytime. This works whether you are in an office, from home and even the local coffee shop. Talk to us about how we can partner to ensure that your business is secure from current, new and emerging threats.
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]]>Fri, 03 Jul 2020 08:02:37 +0000<![CDATA[The Security Risks of Working from Home]]>https://www.actisofttechnology.com/blogs/post/the-security-risks-of-working-from-homeWith users now outside of the corporate firewall and outside of the office environment your risk surface will have increased. Add the ever-growing lis ]]>

What Should I be Considering?

With users now outside of the corporate firewall and outside of the office environment your risk surface will have increased. Add the ever-growing list of collaboration apps now used it has never been more important than now to consider the risk and threat to your business.


Do you foresee working from home being a more regular occurrence? Have you resisted employees working from home in the past?


You may be considering making this more allowable than in the past, but you need to consider the increase in cyber risk, can you mitigate them? Yes, you can. In partnership with your users you can help them to work securely from home, that has always been a possibility. With a robust Remote Working Policy, you can ensure that your business is as well protected remotely as it is in the office.

What are the main considerations I hear you ask? 


With threats forever evolving a multi-layer of security is the best way to mitigate your risk, but you already know that?

    • Train your users on how to spot a Phishing/Malicious communication, outside of the office they will not necessarily have their normal work colleague/s to ask if an email is genuine or not. Your users will also be more relaxed working from home, we’ve all heard of attendees in web meetings only wearing a presentable top half! Don’t let that relaxation become a security lapse.
    • Secure the home router! Most users will still have the default admin credentials in place, the password information is often easily found on the internet. 
    • Passwords are an issue either side of the corporate firewall, purchase a Password Manager for your users, allow them to also use it for personal accounts. This will maintain a good level of password hygiene. One that can generate secure passwords is best. With more collaboration apps being used it increases the risk of password reuse across platforms. It is not recommended to store passwords in browsers. Article.
    • Make use of Two-Factor/Multi-Factor Authentication everywhere that it is available and dependent upon the size of your organisation consider Identity & Access Management for access to corporate resources & apps. Recommend that users also enable 2FA/MFA for all their accounts where available. Don’t just aim security advice at corporate use, aim to get users to build it into all aspects of their digital life, long-term, the users and company will benefit from this approach.
    • Communicate to users the apps that are allowable for collaboration and restrict usage of non-approved tools. Guide your users and make sure that they are aware of what has now become a corporate tool.
    • Endpoint protection, no machine should be without this! Can you manage your endpoint protection remotely? A cloud-based product will allow easier management and ensure that your users have protection everywhere they work from whether that be in the office or remotely. Threats evolve quickly and a product with good Threat Intelligence behind it will improve your security posture.
    • Reduce the malicious emails hitting your user’s mailbox by having an Email Secure Gateway. They can’t click on a dodgy link if they don’t get it in the first place!
    • Make use of a good VPN ensuring that they have a secure connection over the internet irrespective of where they are working. Make sure that it can be managed remotely.
    • Use a DNS Web Content filtering service to prevent access to dangerous and unwanted content. You possibly already have these content rules set up on your corporate firewall, but they need to be at client level to ensure that the same level of protection follows the users wherever they are working. They can also stop traffic going to malicious sites if a dodgy link is clicked on.
    • Use a Remote Management & Monitoring product to ensure that you can manage your endpoints remotely, keep them up to date with patches & be aware of what software is installed on them along with other activities that you need to do to maintain good security posture.
    • Backup, Backup & Backup! A preventative approach to security is the best way to go but a good tried and tested backup can always save the day. Are your users saving more documents to their desktop now they are working from home? Backup your user machines as well as file storage, servers, databases etc to give you all round coverage.
    • How do your users get rid of electronic information, do they just use the Windows delete function and clear out their recycle bin? Look at implementing a secure erasure process using available tools and set an organisation policy for the destruction of electronic information.
    • Don't forget to ensure that all aspects of your insurance will cover you whilst employees work from home.

This is by no means a comprehensive list but gives you a good start in maintaining security wherever your users are working.


Over the years business has been moving to a more mobile approach and the current crisis is going to accelerate that process, are you ready for that change?


Where to start?


Review your current security posture and asses your current risks and how they will change, how agile is your security? Will your security products cause productivity issues being used outside of the firewall?


Don’t forget about your users, there is a lot to consider. Think about how working from home will impact them, many will work more hours than they normally would. Technology doesn’t sleep and is available 24/7 but your users aren’t, and neither are you! Careful consideration should be taken to set guidelines to ensure that your teams are not over doing it as this can lead to mental health problems, I know that all too well from my own experiences. Have the ability to see if the guidelines are being followed.


Your users may also spend more time on Social Media whilst working from home which can also have negative effects - Article. There is no easy answer for this other than trying to educate your teams. Don’t just leave them to it, guide and support them through it, although some may have been asking for remote working in the past it can take a while to get a good routine going and it’s very easy to let that slip, we’ve all had a gym membership that hasn’t seen the outside of it’s holder at times! Article.


Reach out to have a chat about any concerns or questions you may have, we love to find out how others are securing their business and any pitfalls they have come across that may help others in a similar position or situation



Actisoft Technology’s approach, and offering, is one built on the basis of Work Securely, Everywhere, Everytime adopting a cloud approach to security with remote central management. This works whether you work in an office or not. Talk to us about how we can partner to ensure that your business is secure from current, new and emerging threats.

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