You may have already encountered fake phone calls or fake emails from cyber criminals for example pretending to be your internet company.

We don’t want you to be tricked by anyone contacting you and pretending to be from HTB.

If you are not sure of the legitimacy of the request, do not give any personal details, do not respond to the email and do not click on any Website link (even if it looks legitimate).  Instead, start a new browser session and go to www.htb.co.uk our legitimate website and select the contact us section.

 

Security

We want you to be as safe as possible while using our services and we have security measures in place to protect your data on our systems.

Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your devices:

 

1. Use up-to-date software

You should consider using modern products which are automatically kept updated.

As a rule of thumb, the older software is, the less secure it is.

Good software suppliers know this and will provide automatic updates to fix security problems as they are discovered.

 

2. Anti-Malware

Malicious Software – “Malware”

“Computer virus”, “ransomware”, “keyloggers”, “trojans”, “wipers” – these are examples of malware which can do harm to your systems and information. There are a wide variety of products from established suppliers, some free and some already built in (Windows Defender). You should consider installing a reputable anti-malware product and using it in line with the supplier’s guidelines.

 

3. Logins and passwords

Your login details are what tell a system, who is using it and what they are allowed to do.

You should keep login details safely stored and not share them.

The number of logins and passwords each of us has to remember seems to forever grow, password management software can help with this problem.

 

Web browser

Modern free web browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are continually being updated to fix security problems as they are found.

Ensure you run the latest updated version of you chosen browser.

Select a web browser which can be set to automatically download and install updates to itself and fix security problems that are discovered.

Updates will often introduce new features and improve performance as well as improve security.

Note:

• The Firefox web browser from Mozilla is free to download and use. Like Chrome there is a version for PC/laptop, tablets and smartphones. Firefox can also download updates automatically for security and performance improvements.
• The Safari browser from Apple only works on Apple equipment – iPhone, iPad, MAC. Your iPhone or iPad can be set to update automatically with security and performance improvements.
• Microsoft’s browser is Edge and is pre-installed on later versions of Windows (Windows 10,11).
• Windows Internet Explorer (IE 11) will be retired and will go out of support on 15 June 2022, IE11 will Not be considered Secure from then on.

 

Operating systems

Similar to the browser, Operating Systems for your PC, Tablet and smartphones are continually being updated to fix security problems.

Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux are probably the most widely known desktop/laptop Operating systems.

Others are Android and IOS for smartphones and tablets.

As software companies bring out new versions of their products they stop fixing problems with older versions.

Taking Microsoft as an example:

• Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 are no longer provided with security updates
• Windows 8.1  will also stop receiving security fixes in January 2023
• Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11 can be set to automatically install security updates

If you are using an old unsupported operating system version, then your security maybe at risk.

 

Automatic updates

All computer programs (browsers and operating systems included) contain some mistakes – ‘bugs’. Some of these can be used to break or bypass the security of the computer, tablet or smartphone. As these problems come to light the program writers provide security updates to fix the problems.

Search for the software suppliers guidance on how to ensure that automatic updates are turned on to keep it up to date with security fixes.

Sometimes updates aren’t always automatically applied so it is always good to know where to check for updates.

 

Find out more

To find out more about how to keep yourself, your information and your devices secure, please take a look at the following websites:

• https://www.cyberaware.gov.uk/
• https://www.getsafeonline.org/
• https://securitycheckli.st/
• https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/
• https://www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/

 

HTB’s Commitment to Cyber and Information Security

HTB implements rigorous security controls to protect our customers’, partners’ and employees’ data and/or information.

HTB continually monitors and updates its security defences to protect the firm’s systems and data against the latest cyber threats.

HTB will never ask you for your Pin or password.