Quick Tips for Church Computer Safety

Here are some quick tips we ask all our church staff to abide by in order to keep their own, the churchâs, and other people’s data secure. The applications we use are listed (and we believe they are all great), but there are other great apps to use as well.

  • File Storage – Store everything in Dropbox.  It is our backup software.  We can get your stuff back if your computer crashes. Do not keep stuff on your computer hard drive, desktop, or anywhere other than Dropbox.
  • Passwords – Use a secure password management system. Even a secure digital note is better than a sticky note on your desk.  Our recommended password app is 1Password.  Further, use different passwords for all your accounts, so if one is compromised, they are not all compromised.  Change your passwords often.  Use two-factor authentication when available.
  • Accounts – You should be the only one that knows your passwords and has access to your accounts.  If you have a spouse or kids, they cannot know the password to your work account (the computer, your email, church database, etc.).
  • Home Computers & Devices – If you have home computers with any type of church data on them, you cannot have a shared login account with family members.  You are required to have separate accounts set up on the computer and your account on the computer must be password protected.  It can be tricky, but this really applies to access your iPad, iPhone, etc… as well, if they have church files on them.
  • Autolocking All your devices – computer, phone, tablets, etc. – must be set to auto-lock after 5 minutes max.  Again, this also applies to home computers with church data on them.  Never leave your computer unattended.
  • Virus & Malware Protection – You should have up-to-date virus and malware protection on your computer.  This applies to Mac products too.  The church provides protection for your work computer through BitDefender.  If you do not have protection on your home computer you are responsible for purchasing adequate protection or removing any work files/accounts/programs immediately from the computer.
  • Updates – You should make sure your computer and all devices are up-to-date with all the latest patches and upgrades. This applies to both the operating system and applications. 
  • Use a Firewall – This is a feature in the operating system that makes things safer. You can easily turn this on for both Windows and Mac.
  • Use Reliable Browsers – Chrome, Firefox and Safari.  If you are using a browser other than these three you must receive permission.
  • VPN (Virtual Private Network) – Use a VPN, especially when off the church and your home network. Our recommended VPN is NordVPN.
  • Enable File Extensions – Enable file extensions so you can see the entire filename.  Many viruses come with two extensions such as picture.jpg.ex, so be looking out.
  • Other Simple Things: Do not open files from people you do not know. Ignore emails that say you won a contest. Watch out for online and phone scams (Microsoft or Apple will not ask you to call them, neither will the IRS or your bank). Ignore pop-ups, especially inside web browsers, that state your computer has a problem. When installing software, watch for bundled software that installs several programs. Don’t click on things you are unsure about.
  • Finally, remember you have an ethical and legal responsibility to keep church data, especially people’s personal information, safe.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

Leave a Reply to Trinidad Hains Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6,443 thoughts on “Quick Tips for Church Computer Safety

  1. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will share this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  2. I think that everything posted made a ton of sense. However, think about this, what if you added a little content? I ain’t saying your content isn’t solid, however what if you added a post title that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean %BLOG_TITLE% is kinda vanilla. You could look at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create post titles to get viewers to click. You might add a related video or a pic or two to grab readers excited about everything’ve got to say. In my opinion, it might bring your website a little bit more interesting.

  3. What you said was very reasonable. However, what about this? suppose you added a little information? I am not suggesting your content is not solid, however suppose you added a headline that grabbed people’s attention? I mean %BLOG_TITLE% is a little vanilla. You could peek at Yahoo’s home page and see how they create article headlines to get viewers interested. You might add a related video or a related pic or two to get people excited about what you’ve got to say. In my opinion, it could bring your posts a little bit more interesting.

  4. Hi there, I discovered your web site by the use of Google whilst looking for a similar matter, your website got here up, it appears to be like good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
    Hi there, simply became aware of your weblog thru Google, and located that it is really informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful if you happen to continue this in future. Lots of other folks might be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

  5. J’apprecie enormement 7BitCasino, ca ressemble a une experience de jeu electrisante. Le catalogue est incroyablement vaste, proposant des jeux de table elegants et classiques. Le service d’assistance est de premier ordre, repondant en un clin d’?il. Les gains sont verses en un temps record, occasionnellement les promotions pourraient etre plus genereuses, notamment des bonus sans depot. En fin de compte, 7BitCasino est un incontournable pour les amateurs de casino en ligne ! Notons egalement que le site est concu avec style et modernite, facilite chaque session de jeu.

    resena 7bitcasino|

  6. My developer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  7. Sou viciado em PlayPIX Casino, oferece um prazer eletrizante. A variedade de titulos e estonteante, oferecendo jogos de mesa envolventes. 100% ate €500 + rodadas gratis. O servico esta disponivel 24/7, acessivel a qualquer momento. Os ganhos chegam sem atraso, de vez em quando bonus mais variados seriam incriveis. No geral, PlayPIX Casino oferece uma experiencia memoravel para jogadores em busca de adrenalina ! Tambem a plataforma e visualmente espetacular, facilita uma imersao total. Um diferencial significativo os eventos comunitarios envolventes, fortalece o senso de comunidade.
    Ver o site|

  8. Tenho uma paixao vibrante por BETesporte Casino, proporciona uma aventura eletrizante. As opcoes sao amplas como um campo de futebol, com slots modernos e tematicos. 100% ate R$600 + apostas gratis. O suporte ao cliente e excepcional, garantindo atendimento de alto nivel. Os pagamentos sao seguros e fluidos, de vez em quando promocoes mais frequentes seriam um plus. Resumindo, BETesporte Casino garante diversao constante para jogadores em busca de emocao ! Alem disso o site e veloz e envolvente, facilita uma imersao total. Notavel tambem os pagamentos seguros em cripto, fortalece o senso de comunidade.
    http://www.betesporte365.app|