If your business has a storefront, warehouse, or office (including one in your home), you probably have some security measures in place to protect your belongings. You put locks on the doors, maybe you have an alarm system, and you attach theft-proof tags to your inventory.
You might also have locks on the cash drawer and on the filing cabinets. But what about your computer? What measures are in place to protect all the critical data that you have stored there?
Items like your customer list and contact info, your financial data, and the master files with contracts, proposals, and other legal documents. What about the graphics files for your marketing materials, backups of your web site, and photos for your product catalogs?
If your computer crashed, was stolen, or got infected with a virus, what would happen to your business? Think about that for just a minute and I think you'll agree that disaster prevention is well worth a few minutes of your time every day.
Here is a list of the top 10 things you need to do to protect your computer system from viruses, worms, Trojans, adware, spyware, and other uninvited guests.
1. Install an anti-virus program and set it up to automatically check for updates every time you turn on the computer. Have it check all the email that you download.
2. Install an adware checker and set it up to automatically check for updates every time you turn on the computer.
3. Install a spyware checker and set it up to automatically check for updates every time you turn on the computer.
4. Use a firewall to control Internet activity.
5. Do NOT run programs from the Internet; choose the save option instead and run your virus checker against the downloaded files before you install them.
6. Do NOT open attachments that arrive in email (even from someone you know) unless you have specifically asked for them to be sent; when in doubt, confirm the identity of the sender and always virus check before opening.
7. Disable autoplay and autorun.
8. Virus check every CD, DVD, and USB drive that comes in before you use it. That includes brand new media from commercial vendors, disks from the library, and files brought in by friends and relatives.
9. Password protect important files, documents, and email.
10. Back up critical information FREQUENTLY and in multiple ways. Make sure that at least one backup is stored off site.
There are some good free programs available to automate some of these tasks. Here are some links for more information. These are NOT affiliate links. I use these programs and recommend them because they are effective.
http://free.grisoft.com
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
Sheryl Schuff is a Certified Public Accountant, author, and consultant who has been in private practice for almost 30 years. She teaches small business owners how to use PCs and the Internet to simplify their business operations. You can get Sheryl's FREE audio mini course with time saving tips at http://www.SherylSchuff.com
Source: www.isnare.com
