Round Table
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Protect Your Business (2)
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User Profiles
When working from home the family
are in close proximity. Who else uses your computer? Are your business
folders adequately protected from accidental modification or deletion?
Consider setting up user profiles if others are using your computer.
Data Backup
Data backup is essential. Think business safety! What
happens to your records if you have a hard disc failure? How quick can
you recover? It's easy to buy a new hard disk and re-install
applications. Hard drive data recovery is a different matter. Data is your web
site files, email, Favourites, address book, transactions and anything
else that makes the business work. Look after data. Ensure that data
is backed up regularly. At least once a week and more frequently
if you do a high volume of business. Recordable CD (CD-R) is cheap.
Recording doesn't take long.
Get into the habit of backing up your data at frequent intervals
according to how much your data changes during a given period. If your
data changes significantly during a day then backup at the end of each
day. Backup software and media are relatively inexpensive and it takes
little time to initiate a backup. Many data backup applications can be
configured to perform scheduled backups.
When you save data to floppy disk or CD do you immediately label and
store disks? An unlabeled floppy disk could be mistaken for an old
disk and reformatted. A CD left out of its case could easily be
scratched and destroyed. Label and store all media. If you have
decided that a CD is no longer required ensure that the data is no
longer readable prior to throwing it away. There are people that
rummage through rubbish and use whatever they find for fraudulent
activities.
What happens if data is
accidentally deleted or corrupted whilst working on a word processor
or spreadsheet document? Several hours of work could be lost. When
working get into the habit of saving your work frequently. If the
applications you are using allow scheduled saves then configure them
to do so at a frequency of ten to fifteen minutes. Data recovery
software can help however it is not effective in all situations.
Anti-Virus
Anti-virus software is
essential. Buy it, install it and use it. Once you have the software
installed ensure that it is updated frequently. Viruses are
continually being developed to exploit systems and create havoc. Keep
up to date. Don’t be a victim.
Firewall
A firewall device or firewall software protects your computer against
unauthorised access from the Internet. In its most basic form the only
Internet conversations that are allowed are those that were initiated
from your computer. More sophisticated equipment has access lists which
are configured by the user to allow access to your computer by specific
computers across the Internet. Microsoft XP and broadband routers have
personal firewall features. If your equipment has a firewall ensure that it is
turned on.
Passwords
Many resources you will be using
will be accessed via the Internet. Examples include your website and
email accounts. You enter these systems with your username and
password. Your username and password are a defence against
unauthorised access. Unsavoury characters out there run programs that
contain lists of thousands of words that are used as passwords. The
program automatically attempts to gain unauthorised access by working
through the word list until a word matches a password. Strong
passwords greatly reduce the risk of someone gaining access to your
resources.
A strong password has the following
features:
Don't use your login name in any form
Don't
use your first or last name in any form.
Don't
use your spouse's or child's name.
Don't
use license plate numbers
Don't
use telephone numbers
Don't
use social security numbers
Don't
use the model of your car
Don't
use the name of the road you live in, etc.
Don't
use a password of all digits or all the same letter.
Don't
use a word contained in dictionaries
Don't
use a word contained in spelling lists
Don't
use a word contained lists of words
Don't
use a password shorter than six characters
Do use a password with mixed-case alphabetic characters.
Do
use a password that includes digits and punctuation.
Do
use a password that is easy to remember
Do
use a password that you can type quickly
Do
change passwords at frequent intervals.
That
wasn't anywhere near as much fun as building the website but
necessary. Next is Marketing and promoting
the business.
