February 23, 2012

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Protect your business in cyberspace

December 16, 2011 By

Looking after the security of your business used to mean installing a burglar alarm, or maybe employing security guards depending on the nature of your business and what kind of stock you had in the building. Today, although physical security is still important, it’s the more insidious security breaches that are the ones to really worry about – internet security breaches.

Installing antivirus is an absolute priority – if you don’t have it, clear your diary for the day and make this your single must-do task for the day.  It’s easy to search online to find the different packages available. There are lots of free antivirus software programmes available to download, but if you have five computers or more at work, then you should really get a business package. These are designed to work on multiple computers and make for easier updating and management.

If your business has any Macs, then you’ll need separate Mac antivirus software – as the two platforms require different antivirus programmes.  Macs used to have a reputation for being immune to viruses, but with their increased popularity and the increase in services that are cross-platform, they are less secure than they used to be.

Finally, and just as importantly, you need to get the same protection for any mobile devices with internet access, like smartphones.

Even with antivirus products installed, your computers and phones can still be under threat.  Remember to:

  • Never open files sent as attachments from unknown sources
  • Enable macro protection in applications like Word and Excel
  • Subscribe at the end of a free trial of antivirus as you’ll lose the protection if you don’t
  • Uninstall an old antivirus programme from all computers before installing a new or different one
  • Regularly update virus signatures to ensure protection is current
  • Use online virus scans as a back-up to diagnose any viruses that may be on your PC
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Outsource your IT support

November 22, 2011 By

If your business seems a little top heavy in terms of staff in these difficult financial times, it may be time to consider how you can reduce staff costs without damaging the integrity of the business.

One area that might be right for outsourcing to an agency rather than having in-house is your IT department. Business gurus like David Lichtenstein would agree that your business focus should be on what you do best, not the technical systems that support it.

Obviously the major appeal of having an in-house IT department is that you can call for help and within minutes someone will have popped up to your office to have a look at your PC, done something clever with it and made it work again.  Now though, with the facility of remote access, your chosen agency can log in to your computer from wherever they are, diagnose the problem and fix and repair anything that needs it, and you’re back in business.

Of course, any IT department worth its salt does more than just act as the emergency breakdown service.  They also evaluate which systems are the best for your company’s needs and can deal with setting up and ordering such systems, as they have the expertise and knowledge to know what will best meet the needs of the business.

However, meet with a couple of IT support agencies and you’ll soon see that they have the same kind of knowledge and expertise. Added to that they’ll have a host of other company clients so will have been used to dealing with a huge array of systems, and may be able to make recommendations through cross client referencing.

By paying an agency to handle your IT support you’ll make overall cost savings. These include saving on expenses such as pension contributions, holidays and sick pay for full time members of staff.

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Data protection is important when moving online

September 23, 2011 By

One of the key things online businesses need to consider is data protection. Companies within the UK have a legal obligation to do everything possible to look after the personal details and information of their clients and this is an even more difficult thing to achieve when you are running a business on the net.

It’s sensible to keep paper copies of some information for a while before you put it all online, just in case something should happen to your website – for example, it could be hacked and valuable data stolen.

Once you have transferred everything online and you are sure your site is extremely secure and protected against hacking and phishing, you can start to dispose of the paper copies of data in a sensible manner.

Using a shredder could be a great way of doing this. Paper shredders are extremely useful devices to have in the workplace as you’ll be able to get rid of important information while complying with data protection regulations. As well as this, they’re a greener way of disposing of data, so you’ll be able to recycle it easily, doing your bit to protect the environment.

Whether you’re storing clients and customers’ information online or in paper copies, you need to take good care of it to avoid being prosecuted for breaching data protection.

In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office has the right to impose fines upon businesses, online or otherwise, which lose key personal details or information belonging to others.

Storing paper copies of information in a secure place which is only accessible to a few people is the best way to look after it. And if your business is mainly web based, it’s crucial to ensure you have adequate anti-virus software in place to reduce the risk of attacks.

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Essential to use good software

September 13, 2011 By

There are fans of the Sims, Scrabble, and Solitaire. But when it comes to a common denominator amongst computer users, there are two things above all that we agree on.
Whether you use your computer for work or for play, and regardless of whether you have a desktop PC or a laptop, you’ll need to back up your hard drive and protect your computer with good antivirus software.
Just like house contents insurance, antivirus programs are something that you will thank your lucky stars that you have if disaster strikes.
We never know, because the internet is a global network of computers, exactly where the files we are browsing on the internet are located. Equally, we don’t know automatically whether those files are clean or contain viruses.
Really, it’s better to be safe – even if it costs a few pounds – rather than extremely sorry some time in the future.
It only takes one virus to infect your system for everything to be at least compromised, if not outright destroyed.
If cost is really a major issue, there are a number of free antivirus programs that will do the trick in making sure that your computer remains virus-free. Even if you decide you’d rather spend a few pounds on good software, you should get a free trial first, such as Kaspersky free antivirus, to see if the program can really convince you.
Backing up your computer is something that more of us forget to do. Perhaps it’s because, a decade or so ago, backing up your hard drive meant buying 30 floppy discs and spending three or four hours to complete.
Nowadays, there are a variety of ways of making sure that your data is never lost, whether through a virus or a different kind of computer failure. You can do so onto something like an MP3 player, or a dedicated stand-alone external drive. There are also a number of online solutions – sites where you can upload all your files and then access them from any computer at any time.

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eBook Affiliate Programs

August 17, 2011 By

A typical system of creating online money for Web marketers is thru e-book affiliate marketing programs. In this sort of promoting, a seller first creates a digital e-book and places it on sale through a domain. The seller then sets up an affiliate marketing program thru which marketing pros can help in selling the PDF. Each time a client purchases the electronic book, the profits are split between the seller and the affiliate . Step 1 in e-book affiliate marketing programs is composed of a digital product the e-book being made.

The topic can be virtually anything so long as there’s a target audience to sell the product to. Generally the e-book will be made into a compact document format (PDF) file. This format is a standard and makes it simple for the contents of the electronic book to be distributed and read on most PCs. Once the PDF has been made, the seller wants to sell as many copies as practicable. A technique to do this is for the seller to simply sell the e-book thru an internet site.

While this strategy is probably going to result in a respectable quantity of profits, frequently only a limited audience is obtainable. For the seller to maximise money and reach a bigger audience, PDF affiliate marketing programs are typically made. Making an affiliate marketing programme is generally done thru an unrelated party internet site. The seller will place his product on an affiliate marketing programme and decide what quantity of the profits he’s happy to share with affiliates.

Associates are also called online marketers and help the seller sell his product in return for commissions on each and every sale. For instance, the seller may choose to split the profits down the middle and give associates fifty pc of each PDF sold. Once made, marketing consultants can join electronic book affiliate marketing programs. These affiliates will then receive what’s called an associate link, which can sometimes be placed anywhere on the internet.

Anytime somebody clicks on an affiliate link and buys, the seller and associate will share their destined portions of the sale. Affiliates can then sell the e-book in numerous ways, including putting it on an internet site, article promoting, or PPC advertising. This process finally benefits both the seller and affiliates . The seller is really capable of reaching audiences and makes sales that he would not typically make. Affiliates may be able to make money while not having to essentially make a product.

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