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Week's Headlines Five Security Tips to Protect Your Small Biz
Investment
Five Security Tips to Protect Your Small Biz Investment There are several steps small businesses can take to protect themselves from external
threats such as viruses and malware, according to John Clay, the product-marketing manager
at Trend Micro. For starters, small businesses should make sure that their security
applications are kept current. Failing to do so will leave the business vulnerable to
attack, Clay said. Small businesses should also be sure to use security software designed
specifically for small businesses, not software designed for consumers. Security software
designed for small businesses has a number of advantages over consumer-based products,
Clay noted. For instance, business-grade security software allows companies with several
employees to manage the security settings on their computers--a feature that is important
because employees may not know how to use the software properly, Clay said. In addition to
making sure that they have the right technology and that it is up to date, small
businesses should establish policies on how employees handle sensitive data. Finally,
small businesses should protect themselves from being held legally liable for losing data
by following security best practices. For instance, small businesses should implement an
e-discovery solution, since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that they produce
every e-mail that pertains to a legal dispute, Clay said. Gain Control of Your Email There are a number of techniques IT managers can use to gain more control over the
thousands of e-mail messages that move through their companies' networks every day. One of
the best first steps in an e-mail control strategy is to conduct activity profiling, said
Chris Bradley, vice president of marketing and business development at MessageGate.
According to Bradley, activity profiling can help an IT department get an idea about what
has been happening on the company's network for the past month and see areas such as
redundant information, overflowing inboxes, and possible risks. This step allows IT
managers to get a bigger-picture view of what is going on in their company's network,
instead of controlling pieces such as inappropriate content and exposure risks on a
day-to-day basis. IT managers may also want to address e-mail storage when developing an
e-mail control strategy. One way that IT managers can alleviate storage problems is by
replacing attachments with links to documents that are stored in one accessible server,
Bradley said. Finally, IT managers should follow up with employees and make sure that they
have read the company’s e-mail policies and that they understand them. To ensure that
employees know their company's e-mail policies, IT may want to consider developing a test
on those policies that employees could take once a month or once every quarter, depending
on the scale of the e-mail security problems at the company. Taking Full Advantage of CRM Software New York-based Marks Paneth & Shron is one of the growing number of companies that
are beginning to see the benefits of using customer relationship management (CRM)
software. The company uses InterAction, a CRM application from LexisNexis. The
software--which can be accessed by Marks Paneth & Shron's marketing department,
internal accounting, and human resources department, as well as the company's partners and
their administrative assistants, directors, and some managers--allows the firm to analyze
how well an administrative assistant manages their partners' contacts. The software makes
this possible by allowing Marks Paneth & Shron to see when contacts are not being
maintained and updated. In the event contacts are not being maintained and updated, the
CRM software can automatically update contact information from a partners' Outlook address
book. In addition, an add-on product called Tikit allows outside contacts to manage their
mailing preferences and contact information. According to Jean Frohman, marketing senior
at Marks Paneth & Shron, the company's clients like using the CRM software because it
allows them "to take back control of their preferences." She added that her
company's clients have also appreciated them sense of community that has developing from
"know[ing] who knows who." New Dell Servers: Big-Business Performance at Small-Business Price
Small and medium businesses no longer have to sacrifice server performance or
reliability for price. Dell's new PowerEdge R300 and T300 servers have industry-leading
performance, memory and high-availability features previously only available in more
expensive systems designed for larger businesses. Utilizing the quad-core Intel Xeon x5460
processor, the PowerEdge R300 achieves up to 26% better performance than the HP DL320 G5p,
and up to 51% over the IBM System X 3250. The T300 tower server achieves up to 31% better
performance compared to the HP ML310 G5 server, and up to 51 better performances than the
IBM System X 3200. The new R300 and T300 servers helps companies better handle
memory-intensive applications by offering 24GB of memory - essential, high-availability
features include hot-plug hard drives and redundant power supplies to help increase uptime
and prevent loss of data access. Dell's new services portfolio, ProSupport, gives small
and medium businesses greater flexibility to choose the support options that make the most
sense for their companies. These service options, combined with features delivered in the
R300 and T300 servers, make it easier for customers to spend less time worrying about
their IT so they can focus more on productivity and growing their businesses. Backups Are a Breeze Online Many small businesses and professional practices forgo backup systems despite expert
advice. Many of these business owners find backup devices too costly or confusing, while
others contend that there is no need for backup if a fire destroys the office building or
home where the computer and backup files are stored. Online backup systems can provide
these business owners with some relief. IDC Corp. estimates only 1.5 percent of consumers
use online backup technology, which copies files over the Internet and stores them in
high-security data centers. However, businesses can find companies to store their data for
free or for $50 per year in some cases, though some services have size restrictions and
other conditions. Mozy and Carbonite are just two online backup services available for low
fees and storage is unlimited, though high-speed Internet connections are required. Each
online service will require an initial software download, which will monitor and backup
data automatically. Don't Let Your Networked A/V Devices Go it Alone There are two different approaches to wirelessly connecting multiple electronics
devices to an existing WLAN. In one of these approaches, each device that is to be
connected to the network is equipped with a proprietary wireless adapter. In the other
approach, an ethernet connection is used to link each of the devices to a wireless bridge
that supports multiple devices. This approach has a number of advantages of equipping each
device with its own wireless adapter. For instance, the cost of buying a wireless bridge
is often less than the cost of buying wireless adapters for each individual device. In
addition, this approach requires the configuration of just the wireless bridge, not
several different wireless adapters. However, there are some downsides to connecting
several different devices to an existing WLAN via a wireless bridge. For instance, a
configuration problem or hardware failure with the wireless bridge will leave the devices
connected to it unable to link up with the network. Cyber-Thieves' New Target: Business Processes Businesses worldwide depend on e-mail, but malware is putting corporate data at
unprecedented risk, according to a survey by Webroot. Cyber crooks focus on e-mail because
they can extract valuable personal and corporate information, said Webroot executives.
Chris Benham, vice president of corporate marketing for Webroot, said firms need to be
more proactive by establishing policy rules and enforcing strict compliance to e-mail
rules among employees. Too many businesses are being too "casual" about
safeguarding their email, he said. "Attackers are going where the money is by
breaking into business processes. Their actions are hard to track and harder to
prosecute," Benham warned. Webroot's survey of 1,494 e-mail security product decision
makers involved individuals from the United States and six other countries. Three-fourths
of all respondents said e-mail is very or extremely important for communicating with
clients. The biggest security concern cited was infections from viruses and spyware,
followed by data breaches and spam. Upwards of 50 percent of respondents were affected by
spyware and virus attacks in 2007, and more than 40 percent had to cope with a phishing
attack. Roughly a third of the organizations responding said they experienced a reduction
in employee productivity and system performance as a result of spam in 2007. Weave Your Web Businesses can bolster their online presence with new electronic commerce solutions.
Microsoft Office Live Small Business recently rolled out an updated version with new
features that is designed specifically for entrepreneurs that wish to market their
services and wares online. To begin, businesses need to use AdManager to launch an e-mail
marketing campaign via the Windows Live and Ask.com networks. Entrepreneurs can also use
Homestead.com's e-commerce solution Storefront, which has a starting cost of $24.99 a
month. Other advertising options include Homestead's comprehensive keyword advertising
service SearchLight, Homestead Directory, and a new Local Listings service that lists
local businesses on Google Maps, Yahoo Local and similar sites.
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