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Among our most commonly asked questions is the topic of data security. Landlord Vision has a few tools for helping you to keep your data secure. This article covers them and explains how you set them up.
This is written about the new product, though much of it applies to the legacy solution as well.
Multi Factor Authentication
By far the best way of securing your account is to set up multifactor authentication. This will mean that if you or anyone else tries to log in from a different device than the one you usually use, a six digit code will need to be entered that is generated by a separate authenticator app. No-one will be able to log in without access to this app.
To set this up, head to the avatar menu in the top right hand corner (where it says your name) and select Security. Enable Multifactor Authentication and follow the instructions. You will need to have an authenticator app installed to link with it before you get started. At the end of the process, some codes will be produced. Please make sure you keep these somewhere safe as you will need them if you lose access to the authenticator.
Password Tips
The weakest link in any security system is the password. Use a strong password. Landlord Vision’s minimum security is a password that is 12 digits long and contains at least one upper case character, one lower case character, one special character and one number.
It is worth investing in a password manager so you can generate a very difficult password without having to remember it.
Hackers have lists of commonly used passwords and use these first when trying to hack an account. Make sure that your password is strong enough that it is difficult to crack. Passwords like Princess123 are well known to hackers so try and avoid obvious ones.
Do not share your password with anyone, no matter who it is. If you have someone who needs access to the software, set them up with their own user access. If they no longer need access at any point, it is easier to remove them as a user than to have to change your password.
In the same vein, do not use generic log ins that multiple people have access to. Remember, Landlord Vision is single log on, so only one person can be logged in from a particular user at any given time. This means that if two people are sharing a user log in, one will be logged out when the other one logs in. All of the Landlord Vision plans now have unlimited users, so there is no need to share user log ons to get round any limit in access.
If you lose or forget your password, simply use the Forgot Password link on the Log In page and set yourself up with a new one. The support team cannot reset your password for you.
User Access Control
As I said before, you can set up user access for each person who needs access to the software. Depending on who that user is, you can also add restrictions to their access. This includes access to certain sections, like Expenses or Accounting Reports, read only access or the ability to edit data before an accounting data lock (more on this later). Head to Team on the avatar menu in the top right hand corner to set this up.
Accounting Data Lock
A brand new feature that has just been released. Once you have closed your accounts for a particular period, you can set a lock on the period so that it cannot be edited again. You can also set user access so that users with permissions can make edits before the lock date, and users without permissions cannot. Now, finalised data cannot be deleted or edited either accidentally or intentionally by those who are not allowed to. You can set the lock date in the Edit Portfolio area.
Activity Log
Finally, another new feature is the activity log. This allows you to see what changes your users have made and when, so if someone changes or removes something they shouldn’t have, you can see who did it and when. Each item has its own log plus you can view the master log for the whole portfolio. This can be found by pressing the portfolio selector in the top left hand corner, then press the three dots next to the portfolio name and select Activity log from the menu that comes up.
We hope that you find these tips useful. Landlord Vision is as secure as we can make it on our side and is fully GDPR compliant. By following this guide you can help to keep out those who shouldn’t have access and keep your data fully secure. If the worst does happen, and you lose data, remember we back up the databases every night and keep those back ups for 30 days, so you can always restore back to one of these back ups should you need to.
