Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Business Owners! Who's Guarding Your Data? Don't Gamble When It

?

By Peter Williamson

If you?re like many busy business owners, chances are you haven?t updated your online security in a while. Many business owners are willing to take a chance on whatever system they have in place and don?t even know:

? If it?s active ? If it automatically updates ? Whether it?s working

Most of us assume the security software is ?doing what it?s designed to do?: protecting our online presence, but guess what? It?s not enough to ?think? everything?s okay. Here are some things you can do to ensure you?re protected.

1) Microsoft has a collection of compatible antivirus vendors and a lot of them are free. And if you?re still running some old, and I do mean old versions of Windows, check out Windows XP on Google.

2) For you Mac users, try Sophos Anti-Virus or Norton?s iAntivirus.

3) And if you are Linux users, there?s help for you, too. Try Linux Anti-Virus .As an added measure, keep your firewall enabled.

Heads up, though. The firewall on Macs is strangely disabled by default, so be aware of that. There are few things more agonizing than having your security compromised or losing important data. Remember to:

1). Always backup you data. Think of it like a haircut. Once hair is cut, it?s hard to get it back. Same with data. Once it?s gone, it?s hard to get it back without backup. Are you backing up on an external drive? Just be sure to use an online file-sharing services like Dropbox to make sure those locations are also being protected.

2) Consider disconnecting automatic login and set the computer so that a password is needed to open it. It cuts down on convenience, true. But, your protection is worth a little inconvenience.

3) While sharing passwords or using clever ones is tempting, don?t. Case in point: hackers were able to crack Linked In passwords with everyone who used ?Link? as part of their password?

4) Don?t automatically download software that you know nothing about, just because the popup says you need it. Do the research.

5) Avoid questionable sites. Your business is your business, but going on socially unacceptable sites will increase your chances of a breach in security, exposing you to harmful software.

6) By the same token, avoid clicking on links you?re unfamiliar with. As busy business owners, we sometimes click at lightning speed through emails, only to open ones that can contain viruses that infect our computers and anyone we forward email to.

Not everyone is security savvy. Alert your friends and associates if something they have sent you is infected. By being aware of these protective measures and updating your online security, you can better ensure that precious time and important data won?t be lost.

http://www.actioncoachcalteam.com/

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I am a Master Licensee for ActionCOACH, America?s number-one business coaching firm. Our coaches help business owners affordably reach and exceed their goals by providing each with proven strategies and systems to increase revenue. Email: peterwilliamson@actioncoach.com

Source: http://www.professional-article-marketing.com/business-owners-whos-guarding-your-data-dont-gamble-when-it-comes-to-online-security/

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