It’s time to make the leap to VoIP. If you are ready to save money, have better phone service, and virtually unlimited phone calls, then you are ready for an internet phone. In the simplest of terms, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a phone service that uses an internet connection. There are many VoIP phone devices to choose from. You can chat with friends and family all around the globe, for less than you would with a traditional phone line. So, if you want to save money, choose a wireless internet phone. Choosing VoIP may be one of the best decisions you will ever make.
Advantages of VoIP
An internet phone has many clear advantages. Some of the advantages of VoIP and internet phone systems are:
- The ability to talk to anyone, anywhere without worrying about a high phone bill.
- Clear, consistent service using your internet connection.
- Ability to talk to more than one person at a time.
With an internet phone, you are never limited to the number of people you can speak to at one time. If you are calling grandma half way across the world, you can speak with grandma, but grandpa can also get on the line to enjoy the conversation. VoIP is literally connecting friends and family in ways that were never thought possible before. You can have the peace of mind you deserve knowing you can keep in contact with your friends and family, without worrying about the increasing price of long distance. If you are looking for voip solutions for small businesses get the virtual number from trusted provider!
Disadvantages of VoIP
Despite discrepancies in the statements of marketers, Voip is not always the cheapest type of communication. For example, a relatively cheap “long-distance” can be obtained by using intranet roaming of cellular operators. At the same time, the VoIP-operator may not have access to the PSTN of the desired settlement, and the distance to it from the nearest gateway will be covered by the traditional telephone network, which will increase the cost of a call. The quality of VoIP is constantly growing, but sometimes it is still inferior to the quality of traditional telephony. One of the main disadvantages of VoIP is the delay in the passage of packets with voice information through the IP network, depending on many factors. It is almost impossible to influence these factors outside your local network, especially when using public Internet channels.
Is Voip Hacks Easy?
What do you mean, “hack into VoIP”?
One fine morning you come to work and find that your balance is zero, although yesterday there was money in your account. Look at the call history, and there’s a call from Nicaragua and Mexico at 3:00 a.m. And you know for a fact that you only have clients in Europe, and the managers are asleep at night. Attackers picked up a password to one of your accounts and talked all the money – this is “hacking into telephony”.
But wait, how do you crack it? I mean, it’s virtual.
That’s right. It’s virtual, so like any cloud service, it requires a login and password to login. You can find a login and crack the password. Therefore, the same security rules are fair for virtual telephony as for the Internet as a whole. There are also specific techniques that will help minimize the risks if VoIP is still cracked. About them a little bit lower.
Okay, what do I do to make sure that my telephony can’t be hacked?
There are a few rules to follow when working online – this is basic security. It’s like looking left and right before crossing the road, or washing your hands when you come back from a walk.
Come up with a strong password
123456 is a bad password, like qwerty. Moreover, password1234567890 is also bad, because the cracking program will pick it up in 3 minutes. The combination of “your name + year of birth” is about three hours.
That’s a good password:
- consists of a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters and numbers;
- has a minimum of six characters. Or better yet, eight or more;
- does not contain significant words– love, john, company;
- unique – does not match passwords from mail, social networks and messengers.
Close your eyes, put your hands on the keyboard, and tap the keys. You’ll get a good password. Or get a cat to stomp on the keypad. If you don’t have a cat and you can’t think of anything smart, use the password generator. And, for God’s sake, do not store the generated password on a piece of paper under the keyboard or in notes in your phone.
…and change it once a month…
Yeah, you’re gonna have to remember it all over again every time. You can change not the whole password, but a few letters or numbers, say, change the third and eighth characters. For example, there was Se87vfdaQPf, now there is Se07vfdnQPf.
Do not download programs from unknown sites.
Software from unverified sources threatens to hack not only telephony, but also the main mail – and with the address of your main mail in front of fraudsters open almost all roads. It is easy to insert a small trojan or virus into the installation file of the program. You will not even notice it, and it will remember all your actions, including what you type on your keyboard. Next, it’s a tech job. So check what you’re downloading and where you’re downloading it from.
Install the antivirus.
And for a smartphone, too. It’s been a while since viruses have been written for phones. All smartphones, tablets and computers should have anti-virus software. In a corporate network it is the responsibility of system administrators, and you have to take care of your gadgets yourself. The argument “everything will slow down” is not accepted – antiviruses from the Top 5 slow down your smartphone no more than the same Facebook, which always works in the background.
Keep a small amount of money in your account…
From the point of view of accounting it may be a good idea to replenish the balance for six months ahead – less paperwork and bills. From the point of view of risk minimization it is better to keep a small amount on the account and replenish it as needed. Losing twenty euros is not as offensive as losing two thousand.
Set up blacklists of countries
If you know for sure that all of your clients are in Europe, then you should ban calls to Africa and Latin America. When your business grows and you need to communicate with clients on other continents, unblock the right destinations in your personal cabinet.
Remove any unnecessary extras.
Make sure that there is no demo account 111 left in your virtual PBX. These numbers are often created for testing and configuration, and then forgotten. Guess how many minutes it takes to find such a password?
Is the provider in any way involved in the defense?
Of course it is. VoIP providers make sure that intruders can’t hack into data protocols, protect softphones from hacking. The provider also ensures the security of payment and your personal data.
If VoIP can be hacked, maybe I should choose regular telephony.
Conventional telephony can also be hacked. It’s just like in spy movies: cybercriminals connect to the line with special devices and get the opportunity to listen to conversations and make calls anywhere. And in terms of convenience, communication quality and cost, traditional telephony is a great loser to VoIP. The risk that your PBX will be hacked is about the same as the risk that someone will get access to your mail. If you have strong passwords, antiviruses on all devices and monthly call limits for employees, you are not afraid of hacker attacks. And may your strength be with you.