When you hear about internet security being a big concern for huge multinational companies, you can understand it. But when you think about your own small business, you might think ‘why would a hacker target my business, isn’t it just too small?’ But it doesn’t work like that.
Hackers release numerous viruses on the internet every day – they’re not targeting specific people or organizations, it’s not that sophisticated. Anywhere where there isn’t anti-virus in place, there’s potential to profit fraudulently, no matter who the victim is.
Even if you don’t carry out much business online, it’s likely that you rely on the internet for communicating with other people about work and that you’ll use it for internet banking etc. Think what a hassle it would be if your hard drive got corrupted by a virus, or your email contacts were hijacked by a hacker’s virus.
Everyone who is online is at risk of their information being used fraudulently, and the number of viruses has risen with the increased amount of internet use. There is much more potential for hackers to access valuable and confidential information than there used to be. So it’s vital to have antivirus software and other internet security in place for your business.
If you don’t know where to start, the good news is that there are many free anti virus download products to choose from. Although a free product doesn’t give you access to a technical helpdesk and the premium level of cover, it is a good way of getting immediate cover while you research which internet security suite is best for your business.
Once you’ve set up internet security for your business, a useful tip is to make sure that people in the office shut down their computers at the end of the day. People who are always online leave the internet connection open for hackers 24 hours a day. At least by shutting down once a day, the business vulnerability will be limited as the internet connection is terminated for a period.