Guide to Security and Safety for Small Businesses IT

Small businesses rely on their computers, but do not have the backing of a huge IT department to keep their computers secure and safe.

By Ryan Johnson

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Protection from Viruses and Unwanted Attacks

Hackers, viruses, people trying to get hold of your data, spyware, all want access to your important and highly valuable business information contained on your laptop.These free software programs will all help to secure your data.

I recommend: Antiviral software is essential to stop tricky worms and trojans taking over your computer. My favourite is AVG. It performs far better than Norton or mcAfee and is completely free of charge.

The next thing you must do to prevent unwanted access to your PC is a firewall. I use ZoneAlarm. and once again this is totally free.

It is a sad fact that the widespread use of Internet Explorer makes it a big target for hackers, simply switching browser and email client to Mozilla and Thunderbird will help you here. Not only are they less attacked, they are also less vulnerable to attacks.

Finally to remove or lock any spy ware then try this product from lavasoft, once again its totally free of charge.

Protection Of Your Data

The next thing to do after securing your PC form attacks is to make sure you have an appropriate way of storing and archiving all your data.70% of businesses that suffer data loss never full recover from this.Say there was a lightening strike, the power surge fried your hard disk, now how would you get back all that valuable customer or product information?

I recommend: The best way to protect your data from being wiped is to back it up securely.

For my laptop computer I use an external hard drive, which can be bought quite reasonably from many places like Amazon. The drives usually come with data back up software which means that any new files on your PC will be backed up regularly at preset intervals, say every day in the evenings after you finish work would be a great idea.

Of course, you can never be too careful in terms of backing up your data, so why not back it up a second time on a different drive, or even online.

In the UK, there is a good service from BT where all your files are securely transmitted online and saved on an external web server. This is not free, but if you balance out the value of your data then it is very useful.

Theft Prevention

So you have now done everything you can to protect whats on your computer, but there is still the risk of theft, or loss. Its worth bearing in mind that in London last year (2006) over 3000 laptops were left in taxis.

I recommend: In the office there are a few simple things you can do to prevent theft of your computers. First off, set a password on booting up, so that even if the computer is stolen, its useless as nothing can be accessed.

Next, buy a lock, and chain the computer to a fixed object. This combined with a suitable alarm system will help reduce the risk of burglary.

Laptops are more of a risk, by their nature they are light, easy to carry and expensive. The perfect target for a thief. Carrying them around in a traditional laptop bag, it is obvious to anyone what you are carrying. Instead, go covert. Put your laptop in a backpack, or another type of holdall. Putting it in a laptop bag first will protect your computer from any scratches. Don't leave your computer unattended, this may sound obvious but it is amazing how many computers are stolen on a train or in a restaurant when left unattended.

The last measure is to insure your computer, as not all thefts can be prevented.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Take appropriate steps to protect your computer.
• •  Take appropriate measures to secure your businesses IT resources. It is not just your computers that will be saved, but in many cases, the whole substance of your business... customers, data, intellectual property, all invaluable to you and your small business.
• •  Take appropriate measures to secure your businesses IT resources. It is not just your computers that will be saved, but in many cases, the whole substance of your business... customers, data, intellectual property, all invaluable to you and your small business.