The Negative Impact of Technology and How to Avoid It

Could you go a day without technology? I could, but it would be hard. The Digital Age has introduced us to so many powerful devices that make both our professional and personal lives easier. But, just like most other good things, there is a negative side of technology too.

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To prevent the harmful impact that this negative side of technology could have, personal finance expert Jean Chatzky developed 4 steps for avoiding them. These four steps are addressed in the video above and help reduce the dangers of identity theft, hacking, and other unfortunate incidents.

Chatzky’s first step is to be very careful with WiFi-enabled devices. She recommends that businesses set up passwords for their wireless devices to prevent people from tapping into their system.

"For every wireless node that’s sent out today, there is a program when setting up that allows you to decide whether you want to use security." He went on to say that it, "blocks outside people from getting into the system without having to do fancy footwork," said Jay Foley, the executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Some small businesses do not have physical locations and often do their work in places such as Starbucks or Panera Bread. Since these places have public networks, Chatzky suggests that people avoid looking at confidential documents and materials while they are there.

Secondly, she offers a warning about jump drives. It’s hard to believe that the little thumbnail drives that make it so easy to transfer files could be dangerous. To clarify, it’s not the actual drives that are dangerous, but it’s what could happen with them that is dangerous. For example, what if an employee took a jump drive home that contained important business files and plugged it into a computer that was infected by a virus? You can see that the computers at the office could then be easily infected as well.

Aside from the fact that company property should not go home, businesses should also install anti-virus software on the office computers to prevent a negative effect.

Another area that could cause potential harm is transaction systems. Chatzky says that businesses need to constantly check their credit card machines for signs of tampering. Thieves often set up these systems in a way that creates a duplicate copy of all the credit card information. According to Foley, businesses should install security cameras and train employees to watch for this type of behavior.

Lastly, paper can also be a technological concern. Now, you might be blinking or scratching your head, but it does fall into this same category of security concerns. We all know that technology has replaced paper in many cases, but there are a lot of places that still rely on hard copies. Doctor’s offices, for instance, still use a lot of paper filing systems. However, they don’t always treat them the same way they treat their digital files. For this reason, Chatzky says that businesses should be sure to utilize tools such as shredders to provider security to both them and their customers.

These security protections may seem small, but they could end up saving your business from hacking, identity theft, and more. What security measures is your business taking to fend off the negative side of technology?