If you are already working with NCTCS, you have a good anti-virus system in place, but unfortunately, it can't protect you from every threat. The single biggest reason I end up having to come out and clean up spyware and viruses from a system is that an employee has downloaded something from a site that they shouldn't have accessed in the first place.

There is a tremendous cost to this; not only in frustration and downtime for the business, but a real financial toll to a small business paying for my time to clean up a system. As a fellow small business owner, I share my clients frustration with having to spend money on unnecessary IT costs. I'd much rather spend my time helping you to utilize your resources to grow your business, rather than spending your money to dig out of a hole.

Clients sometimes ask about setting up monitoring on their systems, and we can do that, but for most small businesses the cost is prohibitive, and in reality, the time to actively monitor employees activities just isn't there. The businesses that are most successful at protecting their networks from these kinds of threats are those with a clear acceptable usage policy that is actively enforced. Ultimately, this is more of a management problem more than a computer problem, and you can save your business a lot of money and time by adopting a an acceptable usage policy and making sure that your employees understand and follow it.

To give you a jump start on implementing a policy for your business, I've included a link to a sample acceptable usage policy below. (It's in a standard Word Document format; let me know if you'd like a copy in another format and I'll be happy to forward one to you.) A client passed this on to me some time ago, and I no longer recall who to attribute it to, but it is a straightforward and effective tool to clarify your expectations for employees. Most businesses who implement this type of policy successfully have all employees read and sign it, as well as posting a copy onsite; they also have clear consequences for disregarding it. Check it out, and if you have any questions, just let me know.

Acceptable Usage Policy (Word Document)

        

 

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