Sure, everyone hates getting spam, but usually, it’s mostly annoying more than anything else. Just don’t open any attachments. We’ve all heard that before. Those sneaky little phishing emails trick the user into thinking they’re dealing with a legitimate business acquaintance. They’re notorious for installing viruses and malicious programs onto your computer and your network. So, please, for the sake of your business, exercise caution!
You need to have these two safety precautions in place first and foremost to avoid having your network security compromised:
- Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date and turned on. Double check it, because it’s actually not uncommon for employees to accidentally turn it off unknowing of the consequences.
- Ensure all employees that use email and your Internet access are trained on what they are permitted to do and what they should never do like opening any suspicious attachments. Most companies employ a computer use policy to not only outline how surfing the web in their spare time can put the computer network at risk, but it can also outline how to avoid phishing emails and identify suspicious attachments. A computer use policy can also serve as a disclaimer to alert employees that there is a monitoring software in place to maintain the health of employee’s computers. The monitoring software benefits the company two-fold though, by not only being able to use surveillance on any potential mal-ware inducing computer behavior, but also help in identifying those employees that may need a bit more “policing” when it comes to educating them as to what sites they should not be visiting that could impair the security of the company’s network, whether accidentally or intentionally visited.
Other important points to remember:
Beware of Downloads Not Pop-ups – installing and maintaining a good firewall will help block Internet traffic to and from nefarious sites.
Backup Your Files – True, it’s scary to think of hackers getting control of all your personal information, but it’s scarier to think that all of your hard work could disappear just like that without a proper backup in place.
Most companies wait FAR too long to have us evaluate their security risk and network health. These are not simply suggestions for ways to do regular maintenance, they are mandatory essentials for any company to employ in order to prevent disaster. Ask anyone who has had a computer die, or a virus wipe them out. It’s not an uncommon occurrence, so before you wind up with a real life nightmare of a down and possibly un-recoverable network, please exercise the preventative measures needed to maintain your network’s security and health on a regular basis. Read more about what services BIS offers in email security here.
As a measure of good will, and in support of our local business community, we offer a free network health assessment to evaluate your networks risks and ability to remove these common threats on a regular basis. For no charge, BIS will come to your office and check your firewall, antivirus, and security settings as well as scan for spyware and hidden viruses. We will also check your backup to see if it’s working properly and accurately. Find out more and request a free, no risk, consultation.
REMEMBER: Keeping your network safe is a moving target; the security updates you installed today may be rendered useless tomorrow because new threats are emerging daily.
To sign up for our Free Network Security analysis, please visit our website and fill out the form to request a consultation. Or if you would prefer to speak with me about this, call my office at 251-405-2555. After we receive your request, we’ll schedule a convenient time for one of our technicians to come onsite and conduct a complete health check of your network. And when done, you’ll receive a comprehensive easy to read report that will show any problems, threats or vulnerable areas that need to be addressed.
If we discover a problem, we’ll also provide you with a recommended action plan and fixed-fee quote on what it will cost for us to resolve it and continue to maintain your network under our BIS Sentinel Network Management. No hidden fees, no bait and switch.
Should you decide to hire us to do the repair (you’re under no obligation), we’ll get to work on it immediately. If we find out everything is safe and secure, you’ll breathe a big sigh of relief knowing the true state of your network’s health and security—and then we’ll show you the fastest and easiest way to make sure it stays that way.
