IT Security Procedures

Recently, internet and IT security company Sophos reported that "... 90% of work computers fail on basic security..."

That's really worrying, and led me to this thought:

What sort of policies and practices do you have in your workplace to make sure that your computers and networks are safe and secure?

There's plenty of advice "out there", I'm sure, possibly including model policies and procedures. But how much of a priority is it for those of us who are sole traders, or maybe employ 2 or 3 people?

I suspect it is an aspect of business practice that deserves much greater consideration. If anyone out there knows of companies or businesses in the UK that have good practices in this area, please respond and let me know. After all, we could all learn something really important.

Memory Sticks

Aren't they brilliant! And so useful. You can store and transport masses of data so easily. (I knew a school in Manchester, UK, that issued all teachers with a memory stick, and departments used them to store their schemes of work, units of study, lesson plans, worksheets, and other resources - so teachers had instant access to vital materials.)

But these USB devices are fast becoming the latest way that viruses and other unpleasantnesses are spread. It's always good practice to scan a memory stick that isn't yours before downloading any files from it. And get into the habit of scanning your own sticks regularly.

It used to be floppy disks (remember them?) that spread infections; now it's USB memory sticks. Be careful out there!

Security Vulnerability in Adobe Reader

Most of us have a copy of the free Adobe Reader on our computers - for reading pdf files. Please make sure your copy is the very latest, i.e., 9.1.2

There is an update option from the Help menu, so please check, as there is evidence that the out-of-date version poses a security threat.

Storage of Business Data

It worries me that too many business owners are not careful with their precious data. Too many of them do not have plans to backup that data regularly and safely. So I was interested in an article on the PC Advisor website on this very topic:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=10428&ba

The hardware needed is very favourably priced at the moment, and the technology is there to make the process as painless as possible. All that is needed is to design the process to make sure backups are made regularly and safely.

The article also mentions having THREE separately stored versions of the data. The article is definitely worth a read - especially if you have a business that is not currently backing up!