Online Security Tips for Small Businesses

Online security is very important these days, especially for small businesses, as small businesses usually don’t have special technical staff to handle computer security issues. Most of the times the business owners or the technical leads have to take care of online security themselves, which could be often times tedious and time-consuming.

However, if small business use the correct tools and set up right routines, computer security can be handled efficiently without involvement of too much manpower. Here’re some online security tips for small businesses.

Install Desktop Security Software on Business Computers

Although business computers are mainly for business uses, it’s still necessary to install anti-virus and anti-spyware software on them to ensure online security. Theses days there’re many this types of software available and some of them are even free to use. So be sure to have security software installed on your desktop computers. Below are some popular security software to choose from: AVG Internet Security, BitDefender Total Security, McAfee Internet Security Suite, Sophos Security Suite, Trend Micro Internet Security, CA Internet Security Suite, CheckPoint ZoneAlarm Security Suite, Panda Internet Security, Kaspersky Internet Security, etc.

Use Strong Passwords for Business Accounts

When it comes to choosing a password, it’s shocking that many small business use extremely weak passwords such as “123456” for their accounts. A hacker can easily crack this kind of password and your important business data could be stolen easily as a result. Therefore, don’t be lazy when choosing a password. You can use some online password generator to create truly random passwords that consist of numbers, punctuation signs etc., which is almost impossible to be hacked.

Increase Remote Access Security by Using a VPN

Many companies have offices in different locations or allow employees or contractors to remotely log in their business network. This kind of remote access could be insecure. Hackers might be able to steal sensitive information. One way to solve this problem is to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which encrypts all traffic between your main server and remote computers. There’re many commercial VPN providers specializing for different purposes, for example, VPN for gaming, VPN for bypass geo-blocking, VPN for China, etc. There’re even some cheap VPNs you can get for a very low fee. However, the best way is to set up a business VPN on your network by yourself and make sure all remote access is to be done with a VPN.

Secure Business Computers with Encryption

If your business computers are not protected properly, a hacker might be able to teal it and then access your sensitive data on your computer’s hard drive. To prevent this from happening, one can set up full disk encryption on the business computer. Therefore, because the hard drive is encrypted, it would be almost impossible for hackers to access the data on it even if the computer is stolen.

Conclusion

Above are some computer security tips targeting small businesses. The most important thing is to realize there’re always security concerns when using your computer and using the Internet. Installing correct software tools and following secure procedures can increase your security, which will in the long run save your company money and make your company more profitable!