Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Keeping Business Networks Safe

Network security compromises are commonplace in the modern world. Furthermore any business who operates off of and relies on a network to operate is constantly at risk. Sometimes it's a disgruntled employee, other times it's a customer, but most the time security compromises and business networks happen as a result of hacker activity. These individuals spend considerable hours figuring out how to compromise and businesses network in order to obtain client and employee information, credit card information, and even sensitive data. While there are certainly some business owners that ignore the problem and hope for the best there also a great deal many business owners who feel helpless and as though there is no way to protect their business or their network from such unscrupulous individuals.

Creating a secure network can be a daunting task especially for small businesses who operate on very limited budgets however it is an impossible. By both finding a reputable IT service firm and by keeping expectations realistic even the smallest businesses can obtain and maintain a secure network free from hackers, Malware, spyware, and viruses.

There are essentially three things that all business owners must keep in mind and be aware of. The first is that their employees are both their biggest risk and their biggest asset. In many cases where a businesses network is compromised the culprit turns out to be a bitter employee sitting quietly in their office working on an ominous plots to bring their employers operations to a sudden halt. Other times when an employee is involved a network is compromised due to carelessness or a simple mistake.

Some employees may open an e-mail with a strange attachment or even visit websites which appear innocent and useful but in fact are quite the opposite. Business owners can avoid many of these problems by educating their employees and making them aware of the risks that come along with both illegal network compromising activity and the detrimental effects of being careless online.

There is no and probably will never be a be-all and end-all solution that keeps networks safe from any problems. The only true way to keep a network free from security issues is to take it off-line which is impractical and itself can bring a businesses operations to a standstill. Business owners need to be aware that 85% of spam e-mail contains links to malicious websites or files in that well over 75% of websites are actually compromised legitimate websites. Instituting a fair use policy for its employees and enforcing it with regularity is a good effective way of staving off the issues that can arise as a result of poorly monitored network usage.

Lastly there are several things that business owners and managers can do to make their networks remain secure for longer and stave off some of the larger and more problematic issues. Working closely with their IT teams are in IT firm, business owners should institute something that sees passwords change on a regular basis. Passwords are often the first target of hackers and individuals with less than savory intentions so it's best to change them and change them often. Including antivirus software on all workstations and servers is another important item that should be on the list of all business owners wary of security problems. Keeping them up-to-date is also a good idea. In addition to these things business owners should make sure that the company utilizes strong firewalls along with antivirus and spam filters for all their e-mail applications.

Again there's no way to make a network immune to security problems but by following the aforementioned tips a business owner/manager and their IT teams can reduce the number of issues along with the severity of them to a very large degree.

TH2 specializes in Orange County IT services, Orange County IT company and San Diego IT Services.

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