• Destroy hard copies. If you print out confidential documents to circulate at meetings, collect them afterwards and shred them or ask the participants to do so
• Label documents. Sometimes employees are unaware that documents contain confidential information and therefore don't take precautions that they otherwise might. Instruct writers to use the header or footer areas to label the document "confidential." They can also place a confidential watermark on a document. In Word 2007, select Background from the Format menu and then select Printed Watermark. Select Text watermark in the dialog box and choose CONFIDENTIAL from the drop-down list
• Use password protection. You can restrict who can view a document by requiring that anyone opening the document know and enter a password you create and share with them. You can set passwords to both open and modify a document. While hackers have tools to discover passwords, passwords generally make it harder to view documents
• Install a firewall. There are numerous good reasons to install a firewall and protecting important documents is definitely one of them. Firewalls can keep Internet intruders from accessing your computer files and viewing information.
• Lock the doors. To prevent someone from walking into your office and carrying away your computers and the documents located on the hard drive don't leave computer areas unattended and make sure your office doors remain locked after business hours. If you have a server, keep it in a special area that is locked at all times

• Install and update anti virus software

 

Anti virus software is easy to install and, once running, constantly checks to prevent infections that could damage or destroy your data across your network. But know that hackers constantly write new viruses and that your anti virus software is effective only if it knows how to find the latest threats. So when you install anti-virus software, set it to automatically download updates to catch new viruses. If you bought a new PC that included anti-virus software for a trial period, sign-up when the free period expires to continue getting updates or invest in another product

 

• Use software update tools

 

Software companies have free tools you can use to update your software so it's more secure.

 

• Install spyware protection

 

Install and regularly update anti-spyware software, which looks for secretive programs that try to collect your passwords and account numbers.

 

• Install a software firewall

 

A firewall examines data passing into your network and discards it when it fails to meet certain criteria. Software firewall protect only the computer they are running on, but provide a good back-up defense to the hardware firewall.

 

• Install spam filtering software

 

Spam is unsolicited commercial email that infiltrates inboxes and can force employees to waste time sorting it. While primarily a nuisance, junk email does carry a risk when it contains attachments that, if opened, could release a virus. Also, some spam falls into the category of "phishing," or tricking recipients into giving away passwords and other valuable information that could put a business at risk. Installing a spam filtering product, or configuring built-in Outlook 2003 junk email filters, can help to significantly reduce spam

• Restrict equipment access

 

You can improve security by restricting physical access to your servers and networking equipment such as routers and switches. If possible, move these machines into a locked room and ensure only those designated to work on the equipment have keys. This minimises the chance that someone unqualified can tamper with your server or try to “fix" a problem

 

• Set permission levels

 

You can assign users different permission levels on a network. Rather than giving all users "Administrator" access, give individual users access to specific programs only, and define which user privileges are allowed to access the server. For example, you can grant permission to some users to read certain files stored on the server, but not to change them. Only your network administrators should be able to access all your system files and services.

 

• Remove network access for former employees

 

Eliminate the ability of former employees to log onto your network. It is easy to delete their access and user privileges, but if you wait too long, you may give disgruntled ex-employees an opportunity to damage or steal filesÂ

 

• Create an email and Internet use policy

 

A recent study reported that 6 percent of all email messages are infected with viruses or other programs that can damage your computers. Create a company-wide Internet use policy that includes instructions to employees to not open email attachments they do not expect. The policy should also address risky online activities and forbid such practises as downloading free utilities and other programs from the web. Instruct employees to not share passwords or account information if they receive an email asking for themÂ

 

• Require employees to use strong passwords

 

Passwords that are easy to guess can enable unauthorized people to gain access to your network. To prevent this, your security policy should require that passwords contain both letters and numbers. And, while passwords should be changed regularly, avoid requiring employees to change them too often. Writing down passwords or posting them on monitors, makes it easy for others to break into your computer system

 

• Hire help

 

These tasks are not extremely technical, but you may want to consider hiring a computer or network consultant to handle them, who has the proven expertise to help you plan and implement projects requiring more advanced skills

 

• Install a perimeter firewall

 

While a software firewall protects the PC it is installed on, a perimeter firewall is a hardware device that plugs into and protects your entire computer network. A notable feature is that it enables you to close down network ports. Because network ports enable communication between client computers and servers, you can strengthen your network's security and thwart unauthorised access by closing unused ports. This step is more difficult to implement and you may want an expert to help set up your firewall functions correctly

 

• Secure a Virtual Private Network

 

Linking offsite users to your company's network over the Internet enables them to check email and access shared files. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) lets you do this more securely. However, there's a significant security risk any time you make your network accessible to outsiders. You will want to bring in a security consultant because getting a VPN working properly can be tricky

 

• Configure wireless security features

 

Anyone within radio range of a wireless network has the potential to listen in or transmit data on the network. If you plan to use wireless networking, bring in an IT professional to ensure security features are activated and that wireless encryption and access control features are properly configured.

 

• Create back up and restore procedures

 

This task can be as simple as burning a CD with your data files on it and then storing it in a safe place. However, you may want to look at a more sophisticated solution. If you need your data to be available at all times, you should work with an IT expert who can add hardware to your system that builds in redundancy, making duplicate copies of files on a different hard drive every time you save them. That way if one hard drive dies, the back-up system can step in and keep your data flowing. You should back-up files at least weekly, and restore data periodically just to verify that you can

 

• Configure database security

 

If you have a database that stores customer, sales, inventory or other types of critical information for line-of-business applications, hire IT professionals to ensure that this information is well protected. For instance, a database expert can shield the Server from most Internet-based attacks by only allowing authorised users to connect to the database. They can also create back-up systems to restore your data if it is lost

 

• Stop the threats before they cause damage

 

With an ever-increasing number of small businesses adopting always-on broadband Internet connections and taking advantage of the benefits of teleworking, the exposure of computer systems to unwanted intrusion attempts is growing to be more of an issue every day Broadband services and the ability to work remotely may have huge benefits when it comes to productivity, but without proper protection they leave you and your network exposed to a variety of incursions.

 

• Hardware Firewalls

 

Hardware firewalls are easy to use and install and are usually faster than their software counterparts and tend to be more reliable. One of the real benefits of a hardware firewall is that it will often come bundled with additional services. So your hardware firewall may act as a router as well as say a DHCP server that automatically assigns IP addresses to all the computers on your network. A hardware firewall may be more expensive, but you get more for your money

 

• Software Firewalls

 

Software firewalls traditionally run on top of your operating system, however these days they are even being incorporated. Software firewalls tend to be more flexible and allow you more control than their hardware counterparts, not to mention that they're less expensive. You can install a software firewall either onto the computer that acts as your Internet connection router, or on each system on your network

• Ease of use - A good software firewall should offer you an easy-to-use interface that lets you effortlessly navigate through your choices and guides you through the process of setting up your firewall
• Automatic updates - Your firewall vendor should also make regular updates available to you at a reasonable price, and if they're automatic all the better. Most vendors will give you at least a year's worth of updates for free, after which you will need to pay for them. Some vendors will even offer you updates for free for the lifetime of your product. It's thus a good idea to shop around and see what's out there