While the pandemic has pushed many businesses towards urgent digitalisation, it has also given rise to a new wave of cyber crime. Employees working from seemingly secure remote locations have presented cyber criminals with easier targets on a much larger attack surface. With more of our valuable data being moved or generated online than ever before, cyber security can no longer be an afterthought. But not all of us are IT security experts, which is why it is important to have a laptop with built-in security features you can depend on.
When the team behind Google’s Chrome Operating System (OS) and Chromebooks set out to revolutionise the laptop, security quickly became their central focus. Today, Chromebooks have one of the most secure operating systems on the market with multiple layers of built-in protection. They have also made it easier for any user to stay up to date with enterprise-class security, without needing to pay for additional anti-virus software. If keeping your data safe and backed up is a priority for you, here’s why you should consider using an Acer Chromebook.
Hassle-free automatic updates
New and more advanced cyber threats are constantly emerging, which is why the best way to keep your data protected is by ensuring your computer is up to date with the latest security patches. The problem is that Windows updates can be annoying, disruptive and sometimes even cause certain programs to stop working. Windows users also need to install additional third-party anti-virus software, which can become costly and difficult to manage.
Chrome OS takes care of all of that for you, as updates happen automatically and silently in the background, without slowing down the machine or inconveniencing users with long installation times. This means your Chromebook will always be protected from the latest security threats, without you having to lift a finger or wait for updates to finish before you can get back to work.
Containing threats through sandboxing
One way that many operating systems increase their efficiency is by letting processes share resources, but the problem with this approach is that it can allow malicious code to infiltrate your system through those shared resources. Chromebooks offer a solution to this with a security benefit known as “sandboxing”.
On the Chrome OS, each program, website or web application you open runs as a separate process in a restricted environment called a “sandbox”. That means if you accidentally open a harmful website affected by malware, the threat will be contained to that site and will not be able to affect the other tabs or applications in your browser, or anything else on your computer. Any downloaded viruses or malware stay in the sandbox and, when you close your browser, they’re gone.
Self-checks and verified boots
Creating backups and restore points on Windows can be a time-consuming process or require costly third-party software if you want it done correctly. Yet, the last thing you’d want is to lose your valuable data and have no backup plan in place. The benefit of using a Chromebook is that your data can always be integrated automatically with the cloud, and ready to use no matter what Chromebook device you log into.
Every time you boot up a Chromebook, it completes an automatic self-check called “verified boot”. If it detects that your computer has been corrupted or tampered with, the operating system will restore itself automatically from a known, trusted backup. If a backup isn’t available, you can simply download a backup from the cloud and your Chromebook will be good as new.
Power-washing as a fail-safe security solution
Chrome may be more secure than most other popular operating systems, but what if its in-depth defence mechanisms happen to fail? The answer is power-washing. This is essentially a factory reset that wipes the Chromebook’s hard drive and installs a new copy of the latest Chrome OS. While reinstalling Windows – and the various programs you had on it – can be a nightmare, Chromebooks make this process that much easier. All your stored personal files can be backed up to the cloud and restored to a fresh new operating system. You also don’t have to reinstall any of the apps or programs you used because Google does it for you. All you need to do is log back in.
A new security standard
Chromebooks have set a new security standard for laptops in today’s digitally driven age. Renasha Papiah, Commercial Product Manager at Acer, commented: “It has been notoriously difficult for businesses and consumers to keep up with today’s ever-increasing cyber security threats. Most popular devices and operating systems used today were not designed with security as a central focus, but Chromebooks have changed that. They have made security simpler, less disruptive and more reliable when it comes to keeping our data safe and cyber criminals at bay.”
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