Security...

Prevention is better than Cure!

Protection of your system should be paramount! 

As the use of Computer Systems and the Internet is increasing, Security Risks are also greater. There can be many threats to your system:
Viruses - should a virus get onto your system, there is the risk of losing all of your company data. Not only would there be the costs of repairing the machines but also the time/costs of creating the data again.
Theft of Data - as well as losing important company data, there is also the threat of others accessing your data. The damage that a criminal could do with all of the information may be huge, ie identity theft, and fraud.
These are just some of the threats that you system is at risk to and are becoming widely known as 'CyberCrime'.

 IT Security

In order to prevent these things happening, there are many things to consider, such as Anti-Virus, Internet Usage and Back-Up for example.

Anti-Virus
We have visited many businesses who have no anti virus whatsoever, and are using the Internet on a daily basis. The inevitable happens: they get a virus which shuts down their system and stops them working.
We are partners with a company called ESET, who have recieved the highest number of awards since may 1998 from the independent Virus Bulletin - VB100. ESET are very advanced at finding virus attacks and also keeping your company data safe. ESET operate a 24/7 Technical Support line for Companies who have purchased Anti virus solutions from them. 

Did you know that any system can be potentially hacked every 3.5 seconds! Scary Thought!

Although all Anti Virus companies take every care, nobody can guarantee 100% that any system is not at risk from a virus attack. The table below is from ESET's website - This is from retrospective and proactive testing of  various anti-virus solution providers compliled by VB100. See how it compares with other anti-virus software providers. 

If you would like information on how to get a FREE TRIAL please Click Here!

Internet Usage
No Company can afford not  to take the security of their system seriously.
We see many businesses lose time due to being very lax about what Internet sites Staff go onto. It is a good idea to create an e-policy, which is a document detailing which internet sites employees can and cannot use. Many people want to check personal things such as, Online Bank Accounts, but we recommend that you set this up to be done at lunch time only. Freedom of unlimited use of the internet is potentially compromising the security of your data, not to mention the staff hours wasted.

We also strongly recommend that you do not allow any employees or associates to use personal devices on the system, for example USB Sticks, CD and DVDs, and iPods, as you do not know whether they are copying company data, or whether they have potentially harmful files on there already. This is also referred to as 'Podslurping'.

Password Protection
Please keep all password and log on details in a very safe place, preferably locked away with access only to authorised Personnel. Usually 3 people have this access, in case of Holidays or sickness. It is also a good idea to change passwords fairly regularly, and particularly if a member of staff has left your employment!

If you have a wireless network, you should ensure that this is secure. It is possible to create a WEP Key to protect the usuage of the internet with a password. Please DO NOT use your childrens or pats names as these are far too easy to guess! Maybe use a whole sentenance - it makes it much more difficult to crack!

Windows Updates
We recommend that all Windows updates are installed onto your system on a regular basis. These contain patches to further protect your system.

! DID YOU KNOW... Microsoft release major updates on the 1st Tuesday of each month. Diary this to ensure you install them.

We have now joined the Yorkshire and Humber Fraud Forum (YHFF) and British Crime Reduction Centre (BCRC) to ensure that we stay abreast of the latest threats.

Back-Up

Some Companies tend to leave back up's for a long time, hoping all will be OK. We recommend a back up at least every week, if not daily.

Whichever method you choose to back-up your data, the back up CD or tape needs to be takenoffsite, just in case there is any damage to your premises such as a fire, flood or a break in.  
It is wise to elect 3 people who are authorised to carry out a back up of your system and to ensure you have details of where they are storing the back up tape or CD. NEVER JUST LEAVE IT IN A CAR!

 Back-Up, USB Drive

Disaster Recovery

What would you do with no data?                                                                                      Disaster recovery is a procedure that should be looked at more with companys. This involves planning for keeping all aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive events, disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology systems that support business functions. This can be from natural or a man-made event. Natural being flood, hurricane, earthquake and toradoes. Although these are hard to prevent measures such as good planning to help reduce or avoid losses. Man made disasters include hazardous material spills, infrastructure failure, or bio-terrorism. These can be prevented by planning and using surveillance to help avoid or lessen the chances of these happening.

Security is always going to be a potential risk no matter how many procedures you put into place, so you should always be prepared. Think about a disaster recovery plan - the most important part of this should be your Back-Up Procedure! 

It can also benefit from purchasing a UPS, just incase!! Please see Hardware.

 

For more information, or to request your FREE IT Support Consulation,  Click Here!

 

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